2024-03-19T08:49:30+00:00https://www.chalkbeat.org/arc/outboundfeeds/rss/category/student-school-performance/2024-03-14T16:52:05+00:002024-03-14T16:52:05+00:00<p><i>Sign up for </i><a href="https://newark.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><i>Chalkbeat Newark’s free newsletter</i></a><i> to keep up with the city’s public school system.</i></p><p>More than half of Newark’s public schools are no longer designated as underperforming or in need of support following a state review of high-poverty schools.</p><p>This year, 20 Newark schools moved out of state designations for schools in need of support due to low student performance, among other criteria. Among those were Weequahic High School and Rafael Hernandez Elementary School. Both exited one of the lowest designations given to schools in need of recurring support, according to Superintendent Roger León, who announced the school designations during a board meeting last month.</p><p>The schools joined a list of more than 30 other schools that did not receive a designation this year.</p><p>Although an improvement over past years, the district remains under the state’s average graduation rate and proficiency scores on standardized tests. Seven Newark schools continue to need state support to raise student achievement next school year.</p><p>The district’s goal is to have the number of state-supported schools range from “small to zero,” said León during the meeting.</p><p>Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, known by its acronym <a href="https://www.nj.gov/education/essanj/">ESSA</a>, New Jersey must ensure that all students have access to a high quality and equitable education. The federal guidelines set minimum requirements around measuring and reporting school performance and require states to identify the lowest performing schools.</p><p>Schools in need of assistance receive federal funds meant to help raise the performance of the lowest-achieving students. High-poverty schools also can be identified as needing additional support through the Title I program. All Newark schools qualify for Title I.</p><p>New Jersey <a href="https://www.nj.gov/education/title1/accountability/">considers a variety of factors</a> when identifying schools in need of support, including academic achievement, academic growth for elementary and middle schools, high school graduation rates, English language proficiency, and chronic absenteeism. The state then designates a score.</p><p>Last year, the state analyzed data from the 2018-19 and 2021-22 school years and <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/newark/2023/2/28/23619095/newark-nj-department-education-comprehensive-targeted-schools-title-one/">identified 25 Newark public schools</a> in need of support. The state required the district to write an action plan and engage the community to help identify and tackle school challenges.</p><p>This year, seven schools entered a new state status or remained under the same designation, a significant shift from last year’s state review. During this year’s review, the state analyzed 2022-23 school year data – a time when <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/newark/2023/10/3/23900676/newark-public-schools-state-test-scores-math-reading-pandemic-literacy/">Newark Public Schools’ state test scores</a> went up 2 percentage points in both math and English language arts, pointing to students’ slow academic recovery post-pandemic.</p><p>The pandemic had a devastating effect on student performance and mental health, particularly among Newark’s most vulnerable students, including English language learners and students with disabilities. Third graders’ English language arts scores remained at 19% last spring, prompting concern among advocates who consider that grade a critical year for long-term success.</p><p>Two schools – Grover Cleveland and Thirteenth Avenue elementary schools – performed at or below the bottom 5% of Title I schools, which means they will enter “comprehensive status” for the coming year. Last year, Thirteenth Avenue exited that status. High schools enter comprehensive status when they have a graduation rate of 67% or lower.</p><p>In the coming year, Barringer High School will move out of “comprehensive II status,” a designation for schools that require intensive support again and didn’t meet the state’s criteria to exit the category. The high school entered “additional targeted status” meaning that a student group at that school is “consistently underperforming.”</p><p>Barringer offers a special education program for students with behavior disabilities, and roughly 48% of Barringer students are English learners, according to 2022-23 state fall enrollment data. Natasha Pared, Barringer’s principal, used to lead Rafael Hernandez Elementary school, which moved out of a state designation this year.</p><p>“So we have confidence she’ll be able to do the same thing here at Barringer,” said León during the February school board meeting.</p><p>Chancellor Avenue and Sussex Avenue elementary schools will continue with “additional targeted status,” while Quitman Street Elementary School and Malcolm X Shabazz High School will continue with “comprehensive II” status.</p><p>Quitman offers a bilingual and special education program for students with autism in kindergarten through eighth grade.</p><p>Shabazz also offers a special education program for students with behavior disabilities. In recent years, the school has seen declining enrollment, struggles in student performance, and safety challenges. In 2022, Shabazz reported a 64.2% graduation rate, compared to the statewide rate of 90%, according to <a href="https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/2021-2022/school/detail/13/3570/050/postsecondary?lang=EN">school performance report data</a>. This fall, it will launch <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/newark/2024/02/05/newark-bilingual-education-program-malcolm-x-shabazz-english-language-learners-increase/">a new bilingual program</a> for ninth and 10th grade students.</p><p>In total, 36 schools were not identified for any status and 20 schools exited comprehensive status, according to the state’s review this year. The schools that exited a state designation this year must write a sustainability plan, which details how schools will continue to support student academic achievement.</p><p><style>.subtext-iframe{max-width:540px;}iframe#subtext_embed{width:1px;min-width:100%;min-height:556px;}</style><div class="subtext-iframe"><iframe id="subtext_embed" src="https://joinsubtext.com/chalkbeatnewark?embed=true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><script>fetch("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/alpha-group/iframe-resizer/master/js/iframeResizer.min.js").then(function(r){return r.text();}).then(function(t){return new Function(t)();}).then(function(){iFrameResize({heightCalculationMethod:"lowestElement"},"#subtext_embed");});</script></p><p><i>Jessie Gomez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at </i><a href="mailto:jgomez@chalkbeat.org"><i>jgomez@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/newark/2024/03/14/more-than-half-newark-public-schools-exit-state-support/Jessie GómezCavan Images2024-03-14T01:07:09+00:002024-03-14T01:07:09+00:00<p>When Colorado officials ordered Denver’s Lincoln High School to work on a <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2020/2/13/21178565/denver-s-lincoln-and-manual-high-schools-ordered-to-follow-improvement-plans/">turnaround plan to improve the achievement</a> of its students, no one knew schools would be interrupted by the pandemic just a month later.</p><p>But the school pushed forward with its improvement plan, despite the switch to remote learning and a more recent influx of new students. And although the school’s test scores and state rating remained low this year, State Board of Education members praised Lincoln’s progress Wednesday and agreed to give its leaders more time to boost its rating.</p><p>So far, school leaders have completed a leadership program with the University of Virginia, created a new ninth grade academy, and rolled out new career-focused pathways for students. A program called PTECH allows students to stay in high school for a fifth or sixth year to earn an associate’s degree in business. Lincoln’s first participants are graduating this spring.</p><p>Those changes were made possible partly by Lincoln’s status as an “innovation school,” a model allowed for state-ordered improvement plans that gives the school autonomy from some district and state rules and provisions of the teachers union contract.</p><p>Lincoln was one of just two Denver schools with state-ordered improvement plans. The other, <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/co/cde/Board.nsf/files/D2XP5Z62F5C0/$file/2023-24%20MOY%20Manual%20HS%20(Denver%20Public%20Schools)%20Progress%20Monitoring%20Report.pdf">Manual High School, received an improved rating</a> this year. If it sustains that rating for one more year, it can be freed from its state orders.</p><p>Lincoln, on the other hand, has not improved and had to have its plan reviewed this year. The state board unanimously approved a district plan on Wednesday that will keep Lincoln as an innovation school while the state monitors its progress.</p><p>If the school doesn’t manage to earn a higher state rating by 2026, then it will have to return to the state for another hearing.</p><p>When a school receives several years of low ratings, the state is obligated to order an improvement plan, which can include requiring external management, turning the school into a charter or even closing it. Recently, State Board members have stayed away from those drastic options. One alternative has been to grant innovation status.</p><p>With Lincoln, State Board members said they were encouraged that school and district leaders’ assessment of the school and its ability to improve mirrored the feedback from the community, the Colorado Department of Education staff, and an external state review panel.</p><p>“I’m constantly reminded of, we leave a school alone, great things happen,” said State Board member Angelika Schroeder. “What you’re offering is something really special.”</p><p>Under the district’s plan, Lincoln will continue to expand its offerings for workforce development while students are in high school.</p><p>The school will also focus more in the coming years on attendance. Currently, the average attendance rate at Lincoln is 83%, up from 81% last year.</p><p>Principal Antonio Esquibel said attendance rates are low among new immigrant students who are facing other challenges that make it difficult to attend school, such as housing instability.</p><p>School leaders also talked about the challenges they’ve faced most recently in supporting a rise in students who are new to the country. Lincoln High School houses one of Denver’s newcomer centers, which help students who are new to the country adjust to life in an American high school.</p><p>Esquibel said the school enrolled another six new students Wednesday.</p><p>He said the school has added staff, and is now doing an orientation every Monday for new students and their families. The orientation introduces them to Lincoln and the U.S. school system, and to living in southwest Denver.</p><p>As part of the improvement plan, the school will also expand its efforts to help all teachers accommodate their lessons for English learners through sheltered instruction, where teachers can adjust lessons to incorporate help for English learners throughout the day.</p><p>About half of Lincoln’s roughly 1,000 students are identified as English learners, but about 75% identify Spanish as their first language. With so many arriving students who are new to the country, those percentages are rising.</p><p>“Every teacher has to be a teacher of English learners at Lincoln,” Esquibel said.</p><p>The school also uses a model it calls TNLI that offers students Spanish instruction and then slowly moves toward more English instruction, allowing students to remain bilingual, Esquibel said.</p><p>“We know if given the right supports and resources, our students flourish,” he said.</p><p><i>Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at </i><a href="mailto:yrobles@chalkbeat.org"><i>yrobles@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2024/03/14/denver-lincoln-high-school-improvement-plan-colorado-state-board-orders/Yesenia RoblesMelanie Asmar / Chalkbeat2024-03-04T23:54:55+00:002024-03-05T14:26:06+00:00<p><i>Sign up for </i><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><i>Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free daily newsletter</i></a><i> to keep up with statewide education policy and Memphis-Shelby County Schools.</i></p><p>Tennessee’s top education policy board is urging Gov. Bill Lee and state lawmakers to refocus efforts to identify and help struggling readers on students in lower grades — as early as kindergarten — rather than waiting until third or fourth grade to intervene.</p><p>In a rare action, the state Board of Education unanimously approved a <a href="https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/stateboardofeducation/documents/2024-sbe-meetings/march-4%2c-2024/3-4-24%20IV%20B%20Resolution%20Proposed%20by%20Ryan%20Holt%20Attachment.pdf">resolution</a> Monday asking elected officials to revisit the state’s 2021 literacy law, which targeted third and fourth graders and strengthened retention rules for students who score poorly on state tests.</p><p>Over the past three years, the board has been working through the <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/5/19/23730582/tennessee-third-grade-retention-law-promotion-adequate-growth-state-board-of-education/">details</a> and <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2024/02/16/fourth-grade-retention-policy-to-define-adequate-growth-for-reading-law/">challenges</a> of implementing the controversial law, which <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2021/1/21/22243450/tennessee-legislature-strengthens-third-grade-retention-requirements/">passed</a> during a special legislative session called by the governor to address pandemic-related learning disruptions.</p><p>The law created popular summer learning camps and tutoring programs. It also included less popular provisions increasing the likelihood that third and fourth graders could be held back a grade eventually if they don’t perform well enough in English language arts under the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, or TCAP.</p><p>Third grade, when Tennessee begins to give its students TCAP tests, is a critical year for reading proficiency, because literacy is considered key to all later learning.</p><p>The board’s request for the state to reconsider the law’s retention provision is based in part on new tools that Tennessee teachers are using to identify reading problems before the third grade.</p><p>“Retaining students in grades K-3 rather than grades 3-4 will ensure that students who are in the most need of additional reading support will have access to foundational literacy skills instruction at a critical point in their foundational literacy development should they be retained,” the resolution reads.</p><p>While <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/12/23758532/grade-retention-social-promotion-studies-reading-research-mississippi/">years of research</a> shows the overall costs and benefits of retaining students are unclear, the general consensus among researchers and educators is that the earlier a struggling student is retained, the better the outcomes for that student.</p><p>“Third grade is too late,” Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds told the board last month when members asked whether Tennessee’s reading law is targeting the right age group.</p><p>Additionally, Tennessee students in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade now take three tests annually to screen them for potential reading challenges. Data from those tests wasn’t available when the 2021 law passed, but it could be used now to trigger key supports, interventions, and retention decisions earlier in a student’s academic career, the resolution says.</p><p>Ryan Holt, who represents Nashville on the board and wrote the resolution, said the law had a good intent but needs a “course correction.”</p><p>Executive Director Sara Morrison agreed. “It pushes us in the right direction as a state to look at those earlier grades and use data responsibly to make decisions earlier than third grade, but allows for that backstop to remain in third grade where we have that consistent TCAP measure,” she said.</p><p>Thousands of third graders were at risk of being held back last year because of their TCAP scores, but ultimately only about 900 third graders, or 1.2% were retained — <a href="https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/stateboardofeducation/documents/2022-sbe-meetings/february-3%2C-2022-sbe-workshop/2-3-22%20TERA%20Early%20Grades%20Retention.pdf">not significantly more than in an average school year</a> — thanks to intervention options and an appeals process that many families took advantage of.</p><p>The law also requires this year’s fourth graders to be held back if they don’t score as proficient, or show “adequate growth,” on their TCAPs.</p><p>Officials are projecting that the fourth grade retention number will be significantly higher than the third-grade rate, because the law allows for fewer exemptions for those students.</p><p>Just weeks ago, the state board <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2024/02/17/tennessee-fourth-grade-reading-retention-adequate-growth/">approved a complex formula</a> for what constitutes enough improvement for fourth graders — but not before several members questioned whether the law is targeting the right age group.</p><p>“I just want to encourage us to keep moving in the direction of working with teachers who would say the earlier, the better. Let’s not wait,” said Larry Jensen, a board member from West Tennessee.</p><p>Board Chairman Robert Eby, from Oak Ridge, said the body’s decision Monday to send a message to elected officials falls in line with its duty to develop and maintain a master plan for K-12 public education.</p><p>“We don’t pass many resolutions,” Eby said. “I think it shows the importance we’re putting on this issue.”</p><p>Asked about the board’s resolution, a spokeswoman for the governor reiterated the law’s intent, supports, and impacts.</p><p>“Beginning in kindergarten, students have access to high-dosage tutoring and summer school programs that reinforce proven phonics-based instruction,” said Elizabeth Lane Johnson, Lee’s press secretary. “Parents and teachers can track their students’ progress through regular reading screening tests, so they can determine the right path forward based on the unique needs of each student.”</p><p><i>Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at </i><a href="mailto:maldrich@chalkbeat.org"><i>maldrich@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2024/03/04/third-grade-reading-retention-is-too-late-says-tennessee-board-of-education/Marta W. AldrichAllison Shelley / The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages2024-02-23T11:00:00+00:002024-02-27T19:26:50+00:00<p><i>Sign up for </i><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><i>Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free daily newsletter</i></a><i> to keep up with statewide education policy and Memphis-Shelby County Schools.</i></p><p>After a decade of painful takeovers of neighborhood schools, contentious handoffs to charter networks, and mostly abysmal student performance, Tennessee’s Achievement School District appears to be on its way out.</p><p>Several of the GOP-controlled legislature’s top Republicans are <a href="https://dailymemphian.com/subscriber/section/metroeducation/article/41757/top-lawmakers-want-to-shut-down-achievement-school">acknowledging</a> that the state’s most ambitious and aggressive school turnaround model has failed — and should be replaced eventually with a more effective approach.</p><p>Meanwhile, Democrats continue to push for legislation designed to end the so-called ASD, created under a 2010 state law aimed, in part, at transforming low-performing schools.</p><p>“I expect we will move in a different direction,” Sen. Bo Watson, the powerful chairman of his chamber’s finance committee, recently told reporters.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/RnLyhUH4j01LpUvkQVmjdD5jatY=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/UKE2VECPUBCI5H5KJVHQ42CVIE.jpg" alt="Senate Finance Committee Chairman Bo Watson" height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Senate Finance Committee Chairman Bo Watson</figcaption></figure><p>The Hixson Republican called the charter-centric school turnaround model an “innovative” idea that fell flat, at least in Tennessee. It would be foolish, Watson added, to keep spending money on an initiative that isn’t working and already has cost the state more than $1 billion — a sentiment echoed by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and House Speaker Cameron Sexton.</p><p>But if the legislature decides to shutter the ASD and Gov. Bill Lee signs off, important questions remain about how Tennessee will support thousands of students in its lowest-performing schools.</p><ul><li>How quickly will the shutdown occur?</li><li>What will happen to ASD school communities? Currently, the district serves 4,600 students in 12 schools in Memphis and one in Nashville.</li><li>Will the state honor remaining contracts with charter operators, the last of which end in 2026?</li><li>What statewide improvement strategy will replace the ASD for schools in the state’s bottom 5%? Ninety-five schools currently fall in that category and many have undergone a variety of interventions, with limited success.</li><li>And will the U.S. Department of Education approve the change as part of Tennessee’s plan for complying with the 2015 U.S. law known as the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA?</li></ul><p>In order to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in federal education funding to support Tennessee students and schools, the state is required to have a rigorous improvement plan for schools that are struggling the most. Since Tennessee’s ESSA plan was approved in 2017, the ASD has served that purpose.</p><p>The turnaround district “serves as our most intensive intervention for priority schools,” declares the <a href="https://oese.ed.gov/files/2023/11/TN-ESSA-State-Plan_Redline.pdf">401-page plan</a>, the state’s guiding document for K-12 accountability policies. It also commits Tennessee to making school turnaround a priority.</p><p>“Students can’t wait,” the plan says. “Schools that have been historically underperforming and are not showing adequate growth must have state intervention.”</p><p>Brian Blackley, a spokesperson for the state education department, said scrapping the ASD would require two things: a change in state law and an amendment to Tennessee’s ESSA plan.</p><p>If the legislature changes the law, ESSA revisions are doable, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education.</p><p>“Tennessee has the ability to make changes to the design and structure of its local educational agencies, including the Achievement School District, without first seeking approval from the U.S. Department of Education,” the spokesperson told Chalkbeat.</p><p>That said, because the ASD is central to Tennessee’s federal accountability plan, the state would have to submit an amendment to the federal government, and “the department will work with the state as needed,” the spokesperson said.</p><p>The process likely would take months, since a period of public engagement on potential changes is required.</p><h2>ASD brought high hopes, hard lessons</h2><p>While the ASD’s demise has been looming, its birth was filled with hope when Tennessee passed the First to the Top Act, a sweeping education reform package that was the cornerstone of its <a href="https://www.tn.gov/news/2010/3/29/tennessee-wins-race-to-the-top-grant.html" target="_blank">winning federal Race to the Top grant application</a>.</p><p>Taking cues from the <a href="https://educationresearchalliancenola.org/publications/what-effect-did-the-new-orleans-school-reforms-have-on-student-achievement-high-school-graduation-and-college-outcomes">successful turnaround</a> of schools in New Orleans and using tens of millions of federal dollars to pay for the rollout, Tennessee’s new law created a state-run district with the power to take over struggling schools and recruit charter management organizations to run them, giving those operators autonomy to design and implement plans for curriculum, instruction, and school leadership. KIPP and Green Dot Public Schools were among national networks that signed on, and the model inspired several local charter groups to form and join the work.</p><p>Unlike incremental academic gains associated with school improvement, school turnaround calls for dramatic gains in a short period of time. Founding ASD leaders set an extraordinarily ambitious goal: to move those schools from the bottom 5% to the top 25% of performers within five years.</p><p>But the large academic gains never came.</p><p>Removing schools from local governance didn’t improve student outcomes. In fact, <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2018/6/19/21105167/after-five-years-the-tennessee-run-district-isn-t-performing-any-better-than-low-performing-schools/">most ASD schools performed no better than low-performing schools receiving no intervention</a>, according to researchers.</p><p><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2017/2/14/21100298/too-many-good-teachers-are-quitting-tennessee-s-achievement-school-district-researchers-say/">High teacher turnover</a> was a constant challenge, and it became increasingly hard to recruit high-quality charter networks to do school turnaround work.</p><p><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2016/2/22/21092538/report-for-memphians-asd-s-sullied-image-rooted-in-city-s-racial-history/">Community backlash</a> was also significant, especially in Memphis, which became the hub of the ASD’s work and has a long history of charged racial dynamics. ASD critics viewed the takeover of neighborhood schools — and introduction of charter operators who often came from out of state — as another example of racism and reckless social engineering.</p><p>The level of poverty in Memphis was another major challenge.</p><p>“I think that the depth of the generational poverty and what our kids bring into school every day makes it even harder than we initially expected,” founding superintendent Chris Barbic told Chalkbeat in a <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2015/4/7/21100293/chris-barbic-on-leading-tennessee-s-achievement-school-district-and-its-daunting-turnaround-task/">2015 interview.</a> “We underestimated that.”</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/ZqbYIcuh4LxaO1f2xwICZWWFBDY=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/56GJMTOEKVAETCLADJBPPHBEXU.jpg" alt="Chris Barbic, a former charter school leader in Texas, was the founding superintendent of Tennessee's Achievement School District." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Chris Barbic, a former charter school leader in Texas, was the founding superintendent of Tennessee's Achievement School District.</figcaption></figure><h2>The ASD has been shrinking for awhile</h2><p>The state-run district had a peak of 33 schools after <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2015/12/11/21100676/four-more-memphis-schools-will-join-state-school-turnaround-district/">taking control of its last four campuses</a> in Memphis in 2016.</p><p>While there’s been no official decision on its future from lawmakers or new recommendations from Lee’s administration, the ASD has been unwinding on its own, especially since 2022, as schools began to complete 10 years under the model.</p><p>Originally, the state promised to return ASD schools to their home districts in better shape than when they left. But that policy changed over time, and now there are multiple ways to exit, and even remain a charter school, depending on academic performance.</p><p><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2021/12/13/22832734/tennessee-asd-memphis-schools-shelby-county-state-takeover-turnaround/">Some non-charter ASD schools began returning</a> to Memphis-Shelby County Schools, while three charter schools <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2022/1/28/22906307/memphis-tennessee-charter-schools-commission-libertas-school-cornerstone-prep-denver-lester-frayser/">pivoted to the oversight of the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission</a>, another state-run entity, after showing enough improvement to exit on their own. The Memphis district also <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/3/31/23665497/memphis-shelby-hanley-school-asd-tennessee-turnaround/#:~:text=Hanley%20School%20in%20Tennessee%27s%20turnaround%20district%20will%20return%20to%20MSCS%20control&text=For%20the%20first%20time%2C%20a,County%20Schools%20announced%20this%20week.">regained control of a charter school</a> and placed the campus in its own turnaround program known as the Innovation Zone, <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2019/7/16/21108497/tennessee-school-turnaround-models-either-haven-t-worked-or-are-stalling-out-new-research-finds/">an initiative created </a>in part to <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2014/10/28/21092058/hopson-wants-to-expand-izone-board-member-seeks-asd-moratorium/">keep the ASD from taking over more schools.</a></p><p>As for remaining ASD campuses, the charter contracts for operators of seven schools are scheduled to expire this summer; two schools after the 2024-25 school year; and four schools at the conclusion of the 2025-26 school year.</p><p>But the pandemic complicated an already complex exit process by disrupting state testing. <a href="https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/education/2022/06/13/tennessee-asd-superintendent-lisa-settle-departing-district-loses-schools-staff/7585491001/">ASD leadership also turned over frequently</a> and downsized staff in the summer of 2022. The <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/7/17/23797481/memphis-shelby-county-schools-tennessee-achievement-school-district-new-charters-turnaround/">chaotic unwinding has put thousands of students, families, and school staff in limbo</a>.</p><p>Of the contracts expiring this year, for instance, only two charter schools are set to continue operating in Memphis. Journey Coleman will stay with Journey Community Schools through a new agreement with the Memphis district, while Cornerstone Lester Prep will continue to be run by Capstone Education Group through the state-run charter school commission.</p><p>Memphis-Shelby County Schools plans to close MLK College Prep High School, currently run by Frayser Community Schools, and those students are still <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/11/3/23945539/mlk-college-prep-trezevant-students-have-choices-during-frayser-construction/">deciding where they’ll attend school in the fall</a>.</p><p>Fairley High School, which lost its bid to remain with Green Dot Public Schools, is expected to return to MSCS oversight. Green Dot has other schools still in the ASD, and the network’s executive director in Tennessee, Jocquell Rodgers, expects their charter contracts will be honored.</p><p>“Has it been emotional? Absolutely,” Rodgers said of the lengthy unraveling.</p><p>School turnaround work is a difficult and time-intensive process that requires constant engagement with families and the community, Rodgers said. Ideally, there should be collaboration with the local district, she added.</p><p>“It is extremely important to bring something to people that they really want, but at the same time, really help them understand what they need,” Rodgers said.</p><h2>If not the ASD, then what?</h2><p>Tennessee has <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2021/3/26/22353159/tennessee-governor-wants-ways-to-keep-turnaround-schools-under-state-oversight-after-10-years/">doggedly stuck with the ASD,</a> even as its performance has been mostly lackluster.</p><p>But January’s <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2024/01/31/school-turnaround-improvement-superintendent-bren-elliott-departure-asd/">abrupt departure of Bren Elliott,</a> Tennessee’s first statewide turnaround superintendent who was <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/8/31/23854607/tennessee-school-turnaround-superintendent-asd-izone-bren-elliott-dc-public-schools/">hired last August</a> after a three-year search, cast doubts about the future of the state’s school improvement work, especially regarding its most intense intervention tool.</p><p>And GOP leaders such as Sexton, the speaker of the House, fueled speculation by hinting that a mechanism for closing the ASD could be part of <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2024/01/30/universal-school-voucher-draft-bill-in-legislature-bill-lee-accountability/">upcoming legislation for creating a new statewide school voucher program</a>.</p><p>There’s little consensus, however, on a replacement strategy for supporting struggling school communities — a requirement under federal ESSA law.</p><h2><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2021/6/16/22537745/school-turnaround-lessons-memphis-asd-izone/">RELATED: School turnaround lessons from Memphis zero in on the need for collaboration at all levels</a></h2><p>Rep. Antonio Parkinson and Sen. Raumesh Akbari, both Memphis Democrats, have proposed <a href="https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0692">legislation</a> to prevent the state-run district from taking over more low-performing schools. Instead, the ASD would become a resource hub for school improvement work across Tennessee.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/7XrE8MIxlTNS7sacoMF2FGn3I2E=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/PWYMJER5AFFARFKKKM37OU3HWQ.jpg" alt="Rep. Antonio Parkinson has been one of the ASD's most vocal critics." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Rep. Antonio Parkinson has been one of the ASD's most vocal critics.</figcaption></figure><p>But the measure, which has cleared two key House committees, may not meet ESSA’s standard for a comprehensive school turnaround strategy. Akbari said this week that she’s working on changes before introducing their proposal in Senate committees.</p><p>Sen. Ferrell Haile, a Republican from Gallatin, has pointed to Tennessee’s <a href="https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/cpm/School_Turnaround_Pilot_Program-Approved_Vendors.pdf">small school turnaround pilot project</a>, approved by the legislature in 2021, as one possibility. Two private vendors, Georgia-based Cognia and Ed Direction of Salt Lake City, Utah, are working with two schools in Memphis, two in Nashville, and one in Chattanooga, as part of the five-year initiative.</p><p>But it’s uncertain whether that program can scale statewide. And while four of the schools have shown promise, Hamilton County lawmakers say it hasn’t gone well in Chattanooga. They are shepherding a <a href="https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB2366&GA=113">bill</a> to pull Orchard Knob Middle School before the pilot ends in 2025.</p><p>Tennessee Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds, who has the authority to take over more schools and place them in the ASD under current law, has not commented publicly about the district’s future, or a potential new strategy.</p><p>If the legislature lets the state-run district run its course through the 2025-26 school year, when charter contracts expire for its last four schools, her department would have more time to develop a plan. The agency would then work with the U.S. Education Department to revise Tennessee’s ESSA plan accordingly.</p><p>One important step, according to <a href="https://oese.ed.gov/files/2023/10/Memo-to-State-Directors-State-Plans-and-Accountability-Fall-2023.pdf">federal ESSA guidance</a>, is to give the public opportunity to comment on the proposed revision. And educators who are doing turnaround work hope state leaders will take their observations to heart.</p><p>Bob Nardo was an early ASD staff member who left to operate Libertas School of Memphis, one of the state-run district’s few success stories.</p><p>Just because the ASD didn’t work, he said, doesn’t mean the state should walk away from trying to address persistent challenges that led to its creation. Nardo believes one question should be central to discussions when developing a new plan.</p><p>“Are the most vulnerable and at-risk children in our society getting the best opportunity to transform their lives?”</p><p>Nardo worries the state could shift to piecemeal interventions, such as grant programs aimed at small-scale improvements, that wouldn’t be as effective as a comprehensive, schoolwide turnaround strategy.</p><p>“We have to confront the paradox here that this is both a critically needed and indispensable type of work,” Nardo said, “with the sobering reality that most efforts have not been successful” in Tennessee and across the country.</p><p><i>Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at </i><a href="mailto:maldrich@chalkbeat.org"><i>maldrich@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p><p><i>Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach her at </i><a href="mailto:ltestino@chalkbeat.org"><i>ltestino@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2024/02/23/asd-achievement-school-district-closure-debate-school-turnaround-future/Marta W. Aldrich, Laura TestinoCaroline Bauman2024-02-21T23:41:17+00:002024-02-22T00:08:39+00:00<p><i>Sign up for </i><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><i>Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free daily newsletter</i></a><i> to keep up with statewide education policy and Memphis-Shelby County Schools.</i></p><p>Gov. Bill Lee and Senate leaders unveiled dueling proposals Wednesday to bring universal school vouchers to Tennessee. House leaders are expected to release a third version later this week.</p><p>Testing accountability stands out as a key difference in multiple amendments filed as part of a Republican campaign to eventually give all Tennessee families the option to use public money to pay for private schools for their children. The Senate plan also calls for open enrollment across public school systems.</p><p>Lee’s seven-page plan does not require participating students to take annual tests to measure whether his Education Freedom Scholarship Act leads to better academic outcomes. The governor has said that parental choice provides ultimate accountability.</p><p>The Senate’s 17-page proposal requires recipients in grades three-11 to take some type of norm-referenced tests approved by the state Board of Education, which could include state tests that public school students take under the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, or TCAP.</p><p>Assessments must include a third-grade test in English language arts and an eighth-grade test in math; the grades are considered benchmark years for learning those skills. Eleventh-grade recipients would also have to take the ACT, SAT, or a similar exam to assess their readiness for continuing their education after high school.</p><p>“The testing component is critical,” Senate Education Committee Chairman Jon Lundberg told Chalkbeat. “We have a responsibility to share with Tennesseans how this is working.”</p><p>The developments show divisions at the state Capitol, despite a GOP supermajority, about key details of the biggest education proposal of Lee’s tenure, even before legislative debate begins in public. Lundberg’s committee is scheduled to take up the issue next week.</p><p>The governor wants to start with up to 20,000 students statewide this fall and eventually open up the program so any K-12 student can use a $7,075 annual voucher, regardless of family income. His earlier Education Savings Account law, which squeaked through the legislature with a <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2019/4/23/21055514/tennessee-house-passes-education-voucher-bill-for-the-first-time-senate-vote-to-come/">historic</a> and <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2019/4/24/21055593/historic-voucher-vote-in-tennessee-house-could-be-open-to-legal-challenge-says-legislative-leader/">controversial</a> House vote in 2019, targeted students from low-income families in low-performing schools in Memphis and Nashville but remains underenrolled, even with the addition of Hamilton County last fall.</p><p>Cost is expected to be a major hurdle for Lee’s voucher expansion plan in a state that prides itself on being fiscally conservative.</p><p>Tennessee government has a nearly $378 million budget shortfall through the first six months of its current fiscal year, according to a <a href="https://www.tn.gov/finance/news/2024/2/16/january-revenues.html">revenue report</a> released last week.</p><p>Even so, Lee’s <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2024/02/06/governor-bill-lee-universal-vouchers-2024-address-legislature/">proposed $52.6 billion spending plan</a> for the next fiscal year includes $144 million annually for vouchers and $200 million to grow state parks and natural areas, all while slashing corporate business property taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars.</p><p>Over the weekend, Republican Rep. Bryan Richey, of Maryville, told a local town hall that, although he supports statewide vouchers, he expects to vote against this year’s proposal over budget concerns and the lack of accountability provisions.</p><p><a href="https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/rep-bryan-richey-urges-early-input-on-school-choice-proposal/article_e2647f6e-cc18-11ee-92f1-379e8c38d10f.html?utm_source=Chalkbeat&utm_campaign=9bcdf95aa4-Tennessee+Tenn+schools+now+have+formula+to+decide+&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9091015053-9bcdf95aa4-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&mc_cid=9bcdf95aa4&mc_eid=985d9d6c52">The Daily Times reported</a> that Richey compared the upcoming legislative process to baking a cake as he urged his constituents to engage early with lawmakers while the proposals are in committees.</p><p>“Once the ingredients are in the batter and it’s all mixed up, we’re not going to be able to go in there and pull the egg back out or get the oil out,” he said.</p><p>Lee’s proposal did not look markedly different from draft legislation that was inadvertently filed in the Senate in late January due to a miscommunication, then pulled a short time later. Vouchers would be funded through a separate scholarship account, not the funding structure currently in place for public schools.</p><h2>RELATED: <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2024/01/30/universal-school-voucher-draft-bill-in-legislature-bill-lee-accountability/">Tennessee’s universal school voucher bill draft drops. Here are 5 things that stand out.</a></h2><p>But the Senate version aligns funding with the <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2022/5/2/23054374/tisa-bep-school-funding-law-tennessee-governor/">state’s new public school formula</a> known as Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement, or TISA. And it would allow students to enroll in any school system, even if they’re not zoned for it.</p><p>“We want open enrollment so you can transfer anywhere,” Lundberg said. “It’s not just for private schools. The funding follows the student.”</p><p>House leaders have been huddling for weeks with key stakeholders to get their feedback for an omnibus-style amendment that’s expected to come out on Thursday.</p><p>“I look forward to reading the House proposal, but there are obviously already major discrepancies,” said JC Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, who has been in some of those meetings.</p><p>“I really don’t see how these versions can be reconciled this year,” added Bowman, a voucher critic. “If they’re hell-bent on doing this, they need to at least take the time to get it right.”</p><p>But a statement from the governor’s office said the various proposals show “an encouraging amount of engagement in this process.”</p><p>“The governor has repeatedly emphasized that the Education Freedom Scholarship Act is a framework, built upon the foundation that parents should have choices when it comes to their child’s education, regardless of income or ZIP code,” the statement said.</p><p>The bills are sponsored by Senate and House majority leaders Jack Johnson of Franklin and William Lamberth of Portland. You can track the legislation through the General Assembly’s <a href="https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HB2468&GA=113">website.</a></p><p><i>Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at </i><a href="mailto:maldrich@chalkbeat.org"><i>maldrich@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2024/02/21/universal-school-voucher-plans-from-gov-bill-lee-legislature-differ-over-testing/Marta W. AldrichPhoto courtesy of State of Tennessee2023-04-18T12:00:00+00:002024-02-05T02:48:00+00:00<p>Each fall and spring, families and schools across the country take part in “parent-teacher” conferences. Filing in and out of classrooms (or Zoom rooms), educators and parents talk about student progress, participation, and social development. The children and teens who are the subject of the conference are not usually in the room.</p><p>At the Newark middle school where I work, though, our students are the ones leading the conference. They are the ones facilitating the conversation about their strengths and areas for growth.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/syyw9qgf1Km8yby4k5GzLNzNyCc=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/FSGGJ7IK4JEYVBFZBFUQUUERZQ.jpg" alt="Lauren Whidbee" height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Lauren Whidbee</figcaption></figure><p>It takes preparation to get there, but I’ve seen it pay off for everyone involved.</p><p>To help students to feel confident enough to advocate for themselves, we have them prepare and practice with their peers. Before parents arrive, students complete a reflection activity, and my colleagues and I use a checklist to ensure we make the most out of these rare opportunities to all get together.</p><p>The checklist, for example, reminds teachers that they can ask probing questions or direct the student to the agenda but to be careful not to dominate the conversation. We arrange for interpreters if needed. Even the design is intentional — we adjust our seats into seminar-style circles to promote discussion.</p><p>I remember one student whom I’ll call Maria. She was a hard worker and strong reader but was often uncomfortable speaking in front of her peers. At her first conference, she put her hands over her face, too nervous to share.</p><p>Through patience, practice in class, and the support of her family, her conference the next year looked completely different. She was able to present, her shoulders back and head held high as she discussed her progress and how she wanted to be pushed not just academically but also socially.</p><p>At traditional parent-teacher conferences, students may worry about being misrepresented, and parents and guardians might feel surprised and overwhelmed when a teacher expresses that their child is struggling. It also places a strain on teachers who have large class sizes.</p><blockquote><p>It takes a lot of maturity to express your growth and areas for improvement, but I see a genuine effort from all of my students.</p></blockquote><p>Empowering students to lead these discussions lessens the emotional and mental burden on educators. Students have the opportunity to reflect on the skills they learned, their accomplishments to be proud of, what they can work on during the next quarter, and how those goals align with our school’s values: bravery, ownership, and leadership. Families can also trust that if their student identifies they are struggling with completing math homework and assignments on time, it is true. From there, teachers, parents, and students can work together to create action plans.</p><p>Of course, it still takes work and an understanding of the students and their families. I know what classes my students are excelling in and if they are having trouble with behavior in a specific class or homework in another. I let the students lead, but I may ask probing questions or direct the student to the agenda. And I help the student if the parent is talking too much, redirecting the conversation if someone begins to get upset.</p><p>After the meeting, students send thank you notes to their guardians who attended the event. It takes a lot of maturity to express your growth and areas for improvement, but I see a genuine effort from all of my students.</p><p>Since moving to student-led conferences more than five years ago, we have noticed a subtle but important shift. Students are learning public speaking skills. They are learning to advocate for themselves and to manage their time while speaking. And we see parents making a real effort to attend.</p><p>For schools looking for a way to improve on their own conferences, shifting to a student-led model is worth considering. For families wondering how to connect the dots between school and home, ask your child’s school about student-led conferences. Some of the best innovations in education are low-tech and right in front of us.</p><p><i>Lauren Whidbee is a successor school leader at KIPP BOLD Academy in Newark, where she has worked since the school was founded in 2015. She started her career as a Teach for America Corps member in Baltimore. Whidbee is a proud alumna of the University of Pennsylvania, and she earned her master’s degree in education at Johns Hopkins University.</i></p><p><br/></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/newark/2023/4/18/23673081/student-led-parent-teacher-conferences/Lauren Whidbee2023-10-02T09:00:00+00:002024-01-11T18:57:04+00:00<p><i>This story was co-published with </i><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2023/10/02/state-tests-progress-in-math-scores/71000755007/"><i>USA Today</i></a><i>.</i></p><p><i>Sign up for </i><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/national"><i>Chalkbeat’s free weekly newsletter</i></a><i> to keep up with how education is changing across the U.S.</i></p><p>When it comes to how American students are recovering from the pandemic, it’s a tale of two subjects.</p><p>States across the country have made some progress in math over the last two years, while in English language arts some states made gains while others fell further behind.</p><p>“In math, almost every state looks pretty similar. There was a large decline between 2019 and 2021. And then everybody is kind of crawling it back,” said Emily Oster, a Brown University economist. “In ELA, it’s all over the map.”</p><p>That’s according to recently released <a href="https://www.covidschooldatahub.com/score-results">results from over 20 state tests</a>, encompassing millions of students, <a href="https://www.covidschooldatahub.com/score-results">compiled</a> by Oster and colleagues. The scores offer among the most comprehensive national pictures of student learning, pointing to some progress but persistent challenges. With just a handful of exceptions, students in 2023 are less likely to be proficient than in 2019, the year before the pandemic jolted American schools and society.</p><p>“Schools are getting back to normal, but kids still have a ways to go,” said Scott Marion, executive director of the Center for Assessment, a nonprofit that works with states to develop tests. “We’re not getting out of this in two years.”</p><p>Oster’s analysis of <a href="https://statetestscoreresults.substack.com/">test data tracks</a> the share of students who were proficient on grades 3-8 math and reading exams before, during, and after the pandemic. Every state showed a significant drop in proficiency between 2019 and 2021, a fact that has been documented on a <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/24/23417139/naep-test-scores-pandemic-school-reopening">variety of tests</a>. (Testing was <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/3/20/21196085/all-states-can-cancel-standardized-tests-this-year-trump-and-devos-say">canceled</a> in 2020.)</p><p><a href="https://emilyoster.net/wp-content/uploads/MS_Updated_Revised.pdf">Prior studies from Oster</a> and <a href="https://cepr.harvard.edu/files/cepr/files/5-4.pdf?m=1651690491">others</a> have found that while <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/28/23429271/learning-loss-remote-learning-high-poverty-schools-harvard-stanford-research">schools of all stripes saw test scores decline</a> during the pandemic, those that remained virtual for longer experienced deeper setbacks.</p><p>The recent state test data offers some good news, though: 2021 was, for the most part, the bottom of the learning loss hole.</p><p>In math, all but a couple states experienced improvements between 2021 and 2023. Only two — Iowa and Mississippi — were at or above 2019 levels, though.</p><p>In reading, a majority of states have made some progress since 2021 and four have caught up to pre-pandemic levels. However, numerous states experienced no improvement. A handful even continued to regress.</p><p>It’s not clear why state trends in math versus reading have differed. After the pandemic hit and closed down schools, math scores <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/7/28/22596904/pandemic-covid-school-learning-loss-nwea-mckinsey">fell more</a> quickly and sharply than reading, but now appear to have been faster to recover.</p><p>Testing experts say that standardized tests may be better at measuring the discrete skills that students are taught in math. Reading — especially the comprehension of texts — comes through the <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/21/23840526/science-of-reading-research-background-knowledge-schools-phonics">development of more cumulative knowledge and skills</a>. “Is the test insensitive to what’s really going on in classrooms or are kids just not learning to read better?” said Marion. “That’s the part I can’t quite figure out.”</p><p>Oster suspects the adoption of research-aligned reading practices, including phonics, may explain why some states have made a quicker comeback. Mississippi, well known for its<a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/18/23799124/mississippi-miracle-test-scores-naep-early-literacy-grade-retention-reading-phonics"> early adoption of these practices</a>, is one of four states to have fully recovered in ELA. But more research is needed to understand why some states appear to have bounced back more quickly than others.</p><p>“Some people are doing a good job. Some people are not doing as good a job,” said Oster. “Understanding that would tell us something about which kind of policies we might want to favor.”</p><h2>Some schools look to phonics to boost stagnant reading scores.</h2><p>In Indiana, <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/12/23791540/ilearn-2023-indiana-test-scores-explained-decline-reading-math-proficiency">which made gains in math but not reading</a>, officials are hoping a suite of recent<a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/21/23768637/science-reading-curriculum-teachers-colleges-preparation-programs-lilly-grant-nctq-report"> laws embracing the science of reading</a> will boost scores. In Michigan, which also saw no progress in reading, <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/31/23853714/michigan-mstep-scores-results">lawmakers pointed to recent investments in early literacy</a> efforts and tutoring.</p><p>At Sherlock Elementary, part of the Cicero 99 school district in Illinois, just west of Chicago, Principal Joanna Lago saw how the pandemic set students back. Students are still climbing out of those holes, she said.</p><p>“Our scores are somewhat stagnant,” she said.</p><p>But Lago is hopeful a series of new initiatives will lead to gains for her students. This year, her district is adding an extra 30 minutes to every school day so staff can zero in on reading and math skills. This is the second year that teachers within the same grade level are working together more closely to plan lessons and review student performance data.</p><p>The district has also adopted a new reading curriculum aligned with the science of reading. Over the last two years, Lago, a former reading teacher herself, and her team got training on using decodable texts to emphasize phonics. Teachers visited each other’s classrooms to observe as they tried out new lessons. Pictures of mouths forming letter sounds now hang on classroom walls, instead of pictures of words.</p><p>It’s “a more strategic approach to help reach kids and fill some of the gaps of what they need,” Lago said. “How could this not lead to results? How could this not lead to more kids reading more fluently, having better reading comprehension?”</p><p>Educators are confronting persistent learning loss going into the last full school year to spend federal COVID relief money, a chunk of which is earmarked for learning recovery. Some school districts have <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/6/23851143/covid-relief-schools-esser-spending-learning-loss">already begun to wind down</a> tutoring and other support as the money dwindles.</p><p>Marion of the Center for Assessment fears this extra programming will vanish too soon. “I’m pessimistic because I’m pessimistic about politicians,” he said.</p><p>The state test scores offer a slightly different picture of learning loss than a <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/11/23787212/nwea-learning-loss-academic-recovery-testing-data-covid">recent analysis</a> by the testing company NWEA. While NWEA found little evidence of recovery last school year, most state tests showed gains in math proficiency last year.</p><p>There could be a number of reasons for this discrepancy, including the fact that some large states — including California and <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/13/23872580/new-york-state-test-scores-delay">New York</a> — have not released state test data yet, so the picture is still incomplete.</p><p>The new test score data comes with a few other caveats. Because states administer their own exams and create different benchmarks for proficiency, results from different states are not directly comparable to each other. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25209011">Experts also warn</a> that proficiency is an imprecise gauge of learning since it captures only whether a student meets a certain threshold, without considering how far above or below they are.</p><p>Plus, each year’s scores are based on different groups of students since regular testing ends in eighth grade. That means students fall out of the data as they progress into high school and some may never have fully recovered academically, even if state average scores have returned to pre-pandemic levels.</p><p>“There are kids who will forever be behind,” said Oster.</p><p><i>Matt Barnum is interim national editor, overseeing and contributing to Chalkbeat’s coverage of national education issues. Contact him at mbarnum@chalkbeat.org.</i></p><p><i>Kalyn Belsha is a senior national education reporter based in Chicago. Contact her at </i><a href="mailto:kbelsha@chalkbeat.org"><i>kbelsha@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/10/2/23896045/state-test-scores-data-math-reading-pandemic-era-learning-loss/Matt Barnum, Kalyn Belsha2022-05-20T20:36:03+00:002023-12-22T21:42:09+00:00<p><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/16/23071908/adams-14-district-resist-state-order-reorganization-accountabilty"><i>Read in English.</i></a></p><p>Los líderes de Adams 14 tienen planes de resistir los esfuerzos del estado por reorganizar el distrito escolar (que lleva años teniendo dificultades), y están recibiendo el apoyo de los distritos vecinos, un frente unido que sugiere que el estado está a punto de entablar una batalla cuesta arriba en sus esfuerzos por obligar un cambio en la comunidad.</p><p>“Creo que en esto vamos a tener más aliados que la Junta Estatal”, dijo Joe Salazar, uno de los abogados de Adams 14.</p><p>Adams 14, un distrito escolar al norte de Denver, ha <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/2/4/22915329/adams-14-colorado-state-board-accountabilty-system-experiment">probado el poder de la ley de responsabilidad del estado</a> porque ha tenido que enfrentarse a muchas cosas que nunca habían ocurrido. A diferencia de otros estados, Colorado no tiene autoridad para adueñarse directamente de las operaciones de los distritos escolares.</p><p>En 2018, cuando <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2018/11/27/21106374/colorado-board-allows-adams-14-to-retain-some-local-control-as-the-state-pushes-for-external-managem">el estado ordenó que el distrito contratara un administrador externo</a> después de años de desempeño académico deficiente, la junta escolar local permaneció. Y en 2021, cuando esa junta contrató su propia superintendente, Karla Loria, ella <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/2/6/22921120/adams-14-mgt-consulting-leaving">no tardó en deshacerse de la compañía externa de administración</a>, MGT Consulting.</p><p>Ahora, con la preocupación de que los líderes del distrito no tienen lo que hace falta para dirigir los planes nuevos para mejorar el desempeño de los estudiantes y que no están dispuestos a compartir suficiente responsabilidad con asistencia externa para hacerlo, la Junta Estatal de Educación le <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/10/23066191/adams-14-district-reorganization-state-board-education-new-orders">quitó la acreditación al distrito y ordenó que fuera reorganizado</a>, una movida que pudiera resultar en la disolución del distrito, cierres de escuelas, y que los estudiantes tengan que asistir a distritos vecinos.</p><p>Pero Colorado nunca había hecho esto, y deja muchas preguntas sin contestar con respecto a cómo funcionará el proceso. Mientras tanto, la ley les da a las comunidades locales bastantes opciones para resistir al estado.</p><h2>Líderes de distritos vecinos se unen para apoyar a Adams 14</h2><p>Aunque Adams 14 tuvo <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2019/3/28/21107805/adams-14-chooses-a-second-group-to-manage-its-district-giving-mapleton-an-ultimatum">una relación débil con algunos de sus vecinos en el pasado</a>, este año Loria logró convocar a sus colegas y ha recibido su apoyo. Los líderes del distrito tienen la esperanza de que otros se unan, aunque sea solamente para defender el control local.</p><p>El estado ha dicho que los distritos Mapleton, 27J y Adams 12 Five Star también participarán en el proceso de reorganización junto con Adams 14. De conformidad con la ley, un comité compuesto por miembros designados por las juntas escolares y los comités de responsabilidad de cada distrito redactará un plan para los nuevos límites geográficos del distrito. Cuando el comité y la comisionada de educación hayan aprobado un plan, éste debe ser aprobado por votación de los electores en los distritos afectados.</p><p>Y en cuanto a qué tan nuevo e incierto el proceso es, el departamento de educación originalmente publicó una hoja de información en la que se indicaba que las juntas escolares mismas necesitarían aprobar el plan. Sin embargo, ese requisito en actualidad se trata de un proceso de reorganización distinto incluido en otra sección de la ley estatal.</p><p>Mientras hablaba ante la junta escolar de Adams 14 la semana pasada, Salazar también indicó que entendía que las juntas locales necesitarán tener una votación por el plan. Eso significa que los funcionarios estatales tienen un problema, dijo él.</p><p>“Quieren pelear con el Condado de Adams, y vamos a unirnos como el Condado de Adams”, dijo.</p><p>Aunque el proceso no requiere la aprobación de las juntas escolares, éstas pueden influir en el resultado porque son las que nombran a los miembros del comité.</p><p>Y si no quieren crear un plan, el estado no puede hacer mucho para obligarlos a hacerlo. Haber eliminado la acreditación es algo mayormente simbólico — pero ha sido la amenaza detrás de las órdenes del estado en el pasado. Su propósito es hacerles saber a los padres que el distrito lleva mucho tiempo teniendo un desempeño deficiente. Pero los padres ya saben que el distrito tiene retos, y muchos se han <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/3/24/22995298/adams-14-parents-react-school-closure-recommendation">expresado abiertamente para apoyar el liderazgo local</a> y creen que el sistema de responsabilidad del estado los juzga injustamente.</p><h2>Decisión “en las manos de la comunidad”</h2><p>La Comisionada de Educación Katy Anthes dijo que la reorganización de Adams 14 no es algo seguro, y que los resultados realmente dependen de la comunidad.</p><p>“Mi esperanza es que hagan un esfuerzo de buena fe, y estoy segura de que así lo harán”, dijo Anthes. “Si deciden que no quieren reorganizarse o que un plan no tiene sentido, o no pueden definir un plan, entonces tendremos que reevaluar todo en ese momento. La decisión está en las manos de la comunidad”.</p><p>Chris Fiedler, Superintendente del Distrito 27J, dijo que apoya a Adams 14. Su distrito, basado en Brighton, cubre partes de Commerce City y estará incluido en el comité de reorganización.</p><p>“Entiendo que debemos participar según la ley. No puedo optar por no participar, aunque me gustaría”, dijo Fiedler. “De todos modos creo que lo que se necesita para el éxito de los estudiantes de Adams 14, está en Adams 14. Sé que Karla es una superintendente excepcional, realmente una de las mejores que he visto mientras he ocupado este puesto”.</p><p>Aparte de creer en el liderazgo actual del distrito, Fiedler dijo que en su opinión esto se trata del control local y confiar que los líderes del distrito conocen sus necesidades mejor que el estado.</p><p>Charlotte Ciancio, Superintendente de Mapleton, también dijo que apoyo a Adams 14 y criticó al sistema de responsabilidad del estado, que le ha dado calificaciones bajas a Adams 14.</p><p>“Lo que le está pasando a Adams 14 es resultado directo de un sistema que no asegura que a todas las comunidades se les trate de manera justa y equitativa”, dijo Ciancio en una declaración. “El sistema de responsabilidad y acreditación en Colorado tiene bastantes deficiencias. Un ejemplo de la injusticia es que para calificar a las escuelas usa los resultados de un examen administrado únicamente en inglés en una comunidad que predominantemente habla español. Mientras continuamos identificando la mejor ruta a seguir para Adams 14, ¡también continuaremos pidiendo un sistema de acreditación nuevo para las escuelas de Colorado!”</p><p>Los legisladores han <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/6/4/22519284/colorado-school-ratings-accountability-system-audit-bias">ordenado una auditoría del sistema de responsabilidad del estado</a> para determinar <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/2/25/22302056/colorado-school-accountability-system-audit">si está funcionando como se supone</a>, lo cual incluye determinar si está perjudicando a los estudiantes de minorías raciales y bajos ingresos que se supone que proteja. Los resultados de esa auditoría deben estar listos en noviembre.</p><p>Les pedimos comentarios a los representantes de Adams 12 pero no recibimos respuesta. El distrito de Denver, que también colinda con Adams 14, no es parte del proceso porque una enmienda a la constitución estatal en la década de los 70 impide que los límites geográficos del distrito de Denver crezcan excepto si los límites de la ciudad cambian también.</p><h2>Decisión de la junta estatal: “desestabilizante”</h2><p>Jason Malmberg, presidente de la unión de maestros de Adams 14, dijo que en las escuelas la semana pasada lo que se percibía era una tristeza profunda. Muchas personas estaban confundidas por no saber cuál es el próximo paso, mientras que a otras les entristecía que el estado hubiese ido tan lejos, dijo.</p><p>Malmberg dijo que la decisión de la Junta Estatal era desestabilizante y que los miembros de la junta no lo entienden. “Las soluciones que sugieren no están ayudando”, dijo. “Están empeorando las cosas, no mejorándolas”.</p><p>Malmberg dijo que también le preocupa lo que las órdenes significan para el control local.</p><p>“¿La Junta Estatal de Educación tiene derecho, en el siglo 21 y en una democracia, para disolver un organismo elegido democráticamente?”, preguntó.</p><p>Si el comité de reorganización prepara un plan que disuelve el distrito completo, dándole las áreas a otros distritos, la junta escolar local de Adams 14 quedará disuelta.</p><p>Salazar dijo que este es un aspecto de la ley que le preocupa.</p><p>También le preocupa que reorganizar el distrito será una manera para traer más escuelas chárter, aunque Anthes dijo que ella no cree que eso esté dentro del alcance del comité de reorganización.</p><p>Otros escenarios posibles incluyen disolver a Adams 14 y crear otro distrito con nombre nuevo en los mismos límites geográficos (una manera de cambiar de marca y empezar desde cero), o dejar que los distritos vecinos absorban partes de Adams 14 para que el distrito se enfoque en menos escuelas.</p><p>Mientras tanto, los líderes de Adams 14 dicen que todavía están dedicados a educar estudiantes. Los líderes están continuando las negociaciones para trabajar con TNTP, una empresa de consultoría sin fines de lucro. Según el plan que el distrito le presentó al estado, TNTP trabajaría ‘hombro con hombro’ con la superintendente para hacer recomendaciones.</p><p>El distrito también tiene que ir ante el estado el próximo mes para presentar su plan para la Escuela Primaria Central. El distrito está pidiendo más autonomía para convertir a la Central en una escuela de la comunidad que ofrezca varios servicios de apoyo.</p><p>El estado había permitido que el distrito procediera con el plan el mes pasado, pero los Miembros de la Junta Estatal tienen que dar la aprobación final en junio o emitir otra orden de acción, que podría todavía incluir su cierre.</p><p>Anthes señaló la posibilidad de que, si los esfuerzos de mejorar del distrito tienen éxito antes de que se cree el plan de reorganización, quizás la Junta Estatal cambie de parecer.</p><p>“Es posible que el distrito implemente estos planes, que veamos que los resultados empiezan a cambiar, y que la junta entonces reevalúe su decisión”, dijo. “Quizás la orden de reorganización se cancele. Mientras tanto, las escuelas están abiertas, los niños están asistiendo a clases, y nosotros queremos que esas escuelas mejoren.”</p><p><i>Yesenia Robles es reportera para Chalkbeat Colorado y cubre asuntos relacionados con los distritos escolares K-12 y la educación multilingüe. Comunícate con Yesenia escribiendo a </i><a href="mailto:yrobles@chalkbeat.org"><i>yrobles@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2022/5/20/23132940/adams-14-se-resiste-a-la-reorganizacion-distritos-vecinos-dan-su-apoyo/Yesenia Robles2023-09-08T19:45:03+00:002023-12-22T21:35:49+00:00<p><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/1/23855845/adams-14-school-district-end-reorganization-colorado-education-commissioner-decision"><i><b>Read in English.</b></i></a></p><p>El distrito escolar de Adams 14 no se verá obligado a reorganizarse.</p><p>Al aceptar una <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23932492-final-adams-14-reorganization-committee-final-report-and-recommendation">recomendación presentada en agosto por un comité,</a> la comisionada de educación para Colorado, Susana Córdova, liberó al distrito escolar de una orden del Consejo de Educación del Estado que lo obligaba a reorganizarse. Este proceso <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/20/23132898/reorganizacion-adams-14-lo-que-necesitas-saber">pudo haber resultado</a> en cierres de escuelas o que distritos vecinos integraran partes del distrito.</p><p>La decisión del estado se envió al comité de reorganización el 30 de agosto.</p><p>En ella, la comisionada señala que la ley no permite una reorganización cuando los distritos circundantes no están dispuestos a replantear sus límites geográficos.</p><p>“No beneficiaría los intereses de ningún distrito involucrado invertir más recursos o tiempo en este asunto si no existe un interés básico entre los distritos circundantes”, la respuesta declara. “No habrá más expectativas de que el proceso de reorganización continúe”.</p><p>Los representantes de Adams 14 celebraron la derrota del intento del estado.</p><p>“La Ley de Reorganización de Distritos Escolares en Colorado es un proceso anticuado y no comprobado que no funciona y que no debería incluirse en el sistema para rendir cuentas”, dijo Reneé Lovato, presidenta del consejo escolar de Adams 14 y presidenta del comité de reorganización, en una declaración publicada el 1º de septiembre. “No hizo más que causar miedo e incertidumbre entre los estudiantes, el personal y la comunidad”.</p><p>La superintendenta Karla Loría agradeció la <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/20/23132940/adams-14-se-resiste-a-la-reorganizacion-distritos-vecinos-dan-su-apoyo">ayuda de los distritos vecinos</a> y dijo en una declaración que “es nuestra ferviente esperanza que el Consejo Estatal deje de implementar medidas negativas contra Adams 14 y nos permita enfocarnos en nuestros estudiantes”.</p><p>El Consejo Estatal <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/3/17/22983076/posible-cierre-adams-city-high-reorganizacion-distrito-adams-14">ordenó que Adams 14 se reorganizara</a> en mayo de 2022. En noviembre de 2018, el Consejo Estatal había ordenado que el distrito, basado en la comunidad de clase trabajadora de Commerce City, cediera el control a una gerencia externa, <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2019/5/9/21108106/state-board-despite-misgivings-approves-adams-14-s-selected-external-manager">lo cual se inició en 2019</a>. La orden de reorganización de 2022 sucedió después de que una nueva superintendenta expulsara al grupo gerencial externo, MGT, del distrito.</p><p>Esta semana, los líderes de Adams 14 <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/30/23853050/adams-14-school-ratings-state-reorganization-committee-request">publicitaron avances en sus calificaciones</a> como prueba de que van por buen camino. Las mejoras todavía no son suficientes como para que el distrito deje de seguir lo que se conoce como el “reloj para rendir cuentas”. Según la ley estatal, a las escuelas o los distritos que reciben una de las dos calificaciones más bajas se los coloca “bajo el reloj” y tienen cinco años para demostrar mejoras antes de enfrentarse a órdenes del Consejo de Educación del Estado.</p><p>Adams 14 fue el primer distrito escolar en Colorado a quien le ordenaron reorganizarse como una consecuencia de múltiples años con bajas calificaciones en su desempeño. El distrito ha desafiado la orden de reorganización en los tribunales. Queda pendiente una <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/1/23621113/colorado-supreme-court-state-board-education-adams-14-appeal-school-accountability">decisión de la Corte Suprema de Colorado</a> sobre si el estado tiene la autoridad de forzar a un distrito para que se reorganice.</p><p>Mientras tanto, <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/11/11/23454081/adams-14-school-district-reorganization-committee-members-appointed">Adams 14 formó un comité</a> con integrantes de los distritos vecinos—el primer paso necesario hacia la organización. El grupo se reunió cuatro veces, pero en lugar de diseñar un plan borrador para cerrar escuelas, cambiar límites geográficos o disolver el distrito, adoptó una recomendación de 40 páginas que encontró que la <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/30/23853050/adams-14-school-ratings-state-reorganization-committee-request">reorganización no beneficiaría los intereses del distrito</a>.</p><p>La carta con la decisión de Córdova señala: “El comité busca una autorización para dar por terminado el proceso antes de [realizar] audiencias con la comunidad porque no hay nuevos límites [geográficos] que presentarle a la comunidad”. Debido a que el estado entregó el proceso para que la comunidad lo liderara, el estado ahora tiene la opción de decir que el proceso se completó, Córdova escribió.</p><p>Córdova también señala que si partes del distrito de Adams 14 tuvieran que votar para decidir que las integre o no un distrito escolar vecino con un mayor impuesto sobre la propiedad, también tendrían que votar para aprobar ese impuesto mayor—algo que probablemente no suceda en el distrito con bajos ingresos donde han fracasado múltiples veces medidas relacionadas con aumentar los impuestos.</p><p>Aunque el distrito ya no estará obligado a reorganizarse, sigue estando obligado bajo una segunda orden del Consejo Estatal de contratar a un gerente parcial para que lo ayude con su trabajo de mejoras, la decisión dice.</p><p>“Desafortunadamente, el Consejo Estatal recibió una notificación esta semana de que Adams 14 no renovará su contrato con TNTP, y el trabajo de TNTP se ha suspendido en el distrito”, la decisión estatal menciona. “Esto es una sorpresa”.</p><p>Los líderes del distrito dicen que el costo del contrato de TNTP es una de las principales razones por las que suspendieron su trabajo, y en su notificación al estado dijeron que tanto la organización sin fines de lucro como el distrito acordaron suspender el trabajo mientras llegan a un acuerdo.</p><p>Adams 14 había <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/6/27/23185733/tntp-adams-14-school-district-contract-external-management-colorado-state-board-orders">firmado un contrato con TNTP</a> en el verano de 2022. El contrato iba a ser por tres años con un valor total de $5 millones durante ese período.</p><p>Representantes del estado le dijeron a Chalkbeat que habían ofrecido aumentar los fondos para las mejoras del distrito en $350,000, para un total de $1.2 millones este año. “Esperamos que esto ayude a que el distrito continúe su trabajo con TNTP”, dice una declaración del departamento.</p><p><i>Yesenia Robles es una reportera para Chalkbeat Colorado, cubriendo distritos escolares de kindergarten a 12º grado y la educación multilingüe. Comunícate con Yesenia por correo electrónico a </i><a href="mailto:yrobles@chalkbeat.org"><i>yrobles@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p><p><br/></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/9/8/23864808/adams-14-distrito-escolar-no-tiene-que-reorganizarse/Yesenia Robles2023-08-17T17:00:00+00:002023-12-22T21:32:05+00:00<p><a href="https://chalkbeat.admin.usechorus.com/e/23599027"><i><b>Read in English.</b></i></a></p><p>El jueves, Colorado publicó los resultados de su ronda de exámenes estandarizados que los estudiantes de tercer a octavo grado en las escuelas públicas tuvieron esta primavera.</p><p>En general, los resultados han mejorado ligeramente en comparación con el año pasado, pero menos estudiantes que en 2019 siguen sin alcanzar las expectativas. <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/17/23309904/cmas-results-2022-colorado-state-testing-by-school-district">La tendencia es similar a 2022</a>.</p><p>Nuestra gráfica de abajo te permite hacer una búsqueda para encontrar tu escuela y distrito, y compararlos con los promedios estatales tanto en matemáticas como en artes del idioma inglés. La gráfica muestra el porcentaje de estudiantes que contestaron el examen y que alcanzaron o superaron las expectativas en cada materia.</p><p>Los resultados se usarán en las evaluaciones de escuelas y distritos que quizás se publiquen a finales de este mes.</p><p>El número de estudiantes de cuarto y octavo grado que podían leer y escribir a nivel de grado o arriba de nivel de grado esta primavera pasada sigue siendo 4 puntos porcentuales más bajo que el número que podía hacerlo en 2019. Los estudiantes de séptimo y octavo grado demuestran un retraso similar en matemáticas. Cada punto porcentual representa miles de estudiantes que no están alcanzando las expectativas y están menos preparados para el siguiente grado.</p><p>Al mismo tiempo, los estudiantes de quinto y sexto grado están obteniendo resultados similares en lectura y escritura que sus pares hace cuarto años, y en matemáticas, todos los estudiantes de primaria lo están.</p><p>Cuando se examinan por nivel de grado, solo un grupo de estudiantes mejoró en comparación con sus pares en 2019: los estudiantes de quinto grado en matemáticas. Este año, 36.5 por ciento de los estudiantes de quinto grado alcanzaron o superaron las expectativas en matemáticas, un aumento en comparación con el 35.7 por ciento que lo hizo en 2019.</p><p>Las brechas siguen siendo grandes y persistentes. Los estudiantes multilingües parecen figurar entre los estudiantes que los oficiales estatales dicen podrían estar retrasándose aún más.</p><p>Los resultados de los exámenes de estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés y aquellos que contestaron los exámenes de lectura y escritura en español causan serias preocupaciones.</p><p>Solo el 18.7 por ciento de los estudiantes de tercer grado que contestaron el examen en español alcanzaron o superaron las expectativas, una reducción de 8.8 puntos porcentuales en comparación con 2019—el mayor retraso por mucho en la recuperación de los estudiantes. Y solo el 14.2 por ciento de los estudiantes de cuarto grado que contestaron el examen en español alcanzaron o superaron las expectativas, una reducción de casi 5 puntos porcentuales en comparación con 2019.</p><p><i>Yesenia Robles es una reportera para Chalkbeat Colorado, cubriendo distritos escolares de kindergarten a 12º grado y la educación multilingüe. Comunícate con Yesenia por correo electrónico a yrobles@chalkbeat.org.</i></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/8/17/23835219/resultados-cmas-2023-colorado-examenes-estatales-busca-tu-escuela-distrito/Yesenia Robles, Erica Meltzer2022-12-15T23:50:26+00:002023-12-22T21:29:23+00:00<p><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/7/23499212/adams-14-school-improvement-plan-adams-city-high-school-community-schools"><i><b>Read in English.</b></i></a></p><p><i>Chalkbeat Colorado es un noticiero local sin fines de lucro que informa sobre las escuelas públicas en Denver y otros distritos. </i><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/en-espanol"><i>Suscríbete a nuestro boletín gratis por email en español</i></a><i> para recibir lo último en noticias sobre educación.</i></p><p>Antes de la pandemia, la Escuela Primaria Rose Hill del distrito Adams 14 llevaba cuatro años teniendo malas calificaciones. Eso cambió este otoño cuando los estudiantes de Rose Hill demostraron una mejora en los exámenes del estado, y fue la única escuela primaria de Adams 14 en lograrlo.</p><p>Los cambios fueron el resultado de un liderazgo consistente y de un experto equipo de maestros que se esforzó arduamente para mejorar cómo atienden las necesidades de los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés.</p><p>“No hemos tenido una cantidad masiva de gente yéndose de Rose Hill,” dijo el director Luis Camas. “Este es mi quinto año, y la mayoría de los maestros está todavía aquí. Está marcando una diferencia”.</p><p>Los líderes de Adams 14 están ahora compartiendo planes de cómo esperan apoyar que más escuelas progresen como la Rose Hill, que lo logró a pesar de haber tenido años de desempeño deficiente y una intervención del estado que no funcionó.</p><p>Ellos también insisten en que a sus estudiantes les está <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/17/23309904/cmas-results-2022-colorado-state-testing-by-school-district">yendo mucho mejor de lo que sugieren las puntuaciones en los exámenes estatales</a>, y continúan resistiendo la intervención externa en los tribunales.</p><p>Los planes del distrito incluyen asegurar que los directores tengan el tiempo y las destrezas necesarias para trabajar con los maestros en temas de instrucción, desarrollar una escuela de la comunidad en la Escuela Primaria Central que les preste servicios a toda la familia, establecer academias vocacionales en la Escuela Secundaria Adams City, y brindarles más recursos a los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés, que representan la mitad de la matrícula.</p><p>Algunos de esos planes son nuevos — como el de la escuela en la comunidad — mientras que otros fueron propuestos o intentados antes, pero con seguimiento limitado. Los líderes del distrito dicen que esta vez es diferente porque están trabajando con la comunidad y desarrollando una estrategia completa, no solamente una ‘lista de tareas’ con programas nuevos.</p><p>María Zubia, miembro de la junta escolar, dijo que en esta ocasión está viendo acción real para cambiar y cree que los planes subsistirán más que la administración actual, y por lo tanto el trabajo no tendrá que volver a comenzar con cada cambio de administración.</p><p>“Eso es lo que nos entusiasma”, dijo Zubia. “Son las cosas que vemos. Estoy cansada de la gente que habla, habla y habla, pero no hay acción. Yo soy realista; necesito verlo”.</p><p>Algunos miembros de la comunidad y expertos todavía se muestran dudosos. Nicholas Martinez, que dirige el grupo local <i>Transform Education Now</i>, dijo que los líderes no le han explicado claramente a la comunidad lo que está pasando ni por qué.</p><p>“Desde mi punto de vista, no mucho ha cambiado”, dijo Martinez. “Los datos del estado se publicaron, y no hay muchos que se salgan de la norma. No hay un montón de gente diciendo, ‘Ahí se ve un punto brillante’. Me encantaría saber cuál ha sido la estrategia del distrito”.</p><h2>Cómo Adams 14 llegó aquí</h2><p>Hace ocho meses, la Junta de Educación del Estado <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/10/23066191/adams-14-district-reorganization-state-board-education-new-orders">ordenó la reorganización del distrito escolar Adams 14</a> — la medida más drástica disponible según las leyes del estado. El distrito había batallado con puntuaciones bajas en los exámenes del estado por más de una década. La reorganización podría resultar en cierres de escuela o en la pérdida de control de algunas partes de Adams 14 a los distritos vecinos, pero el plan sería dirigido por miembros de la comunidad de Adams 14 y personas de distritos cercanos que apoyan al distrito.</p><p>El distrito ha dedicado bastante tiempo y esfuerzo a resistir las órdenes del estado. Un comité de reorganización se reunió una sola vez, y el grupo ahora está buscando un facilitador.</p><p>Mientras tanto, la Superintendente Karla Loría ha formado un equipo nuevo de líderes mayormente compuesto de personas que ella conoce de empleos anteriores. El distrito también tiene un contrato de tres años y $5 millones con TNTP, una entidad sin fines de lucro, para que ayude con la mejora a las escuelas.</p><p>De todos modos, muchos en la comunidad se preguntan qué está haciendo el distrito para mejorar el desempeño de los estudiantes.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/ixTLFgTXhp8GxqSEj-AaUHKY1pA=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/FAEYDCDEBZGDJD2A7BEOEC3GTA.jpg" alt="Los maestros en Rose Hill dicen que las mejoras de los estudiantes se deben a un liderazgo consistente y al aumento en apoyo para los que están aprendiendo inglés." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Los maestros en Rose Hill dicen que las mejoras de los estudiantes se deben a un liderazgo consistente y al aumento en apoyo para los que están aprendiendo inglés.</figcaption></figure><h2>Con el tiempo, los estudiantes de inglés han tenido más apoyo</h2><p>Adams 14 tiene una matrícula de un poco más de 6,000 estudiantes al norte de Denver, y más o menos la mitad están clasificados como estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés o <i>linguistically gifted</i>, como el distrito los llama ahora. Una queja ante el gobierno federal y una investigación iniciada en 2010 con el tiempo <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2014/04/29/report-latino-students-staff-faced-hostile-environment-at-adams-14/">indicó que el distrito estaba violando</a> los derechos civiles de esos estudiantes y discriminando contra sus familias. Una orden federal obligó a Adams 14 a mejorar sus servicios para los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés.</p><p>El distrito está agregando más instrucción bilingüe y ha <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/22/23317371/adams-14-state-lawsuit-injunction-delay-hearing-students-harmed-argument">traído maestros bilingües de otros países</a>.</p><p>“Me parece excelente contar con instrucción en dos idiomas que apoyará no solamente a los estudiantes que quieran aprender un segundo idioma, sino también a los que quieran fortalecer su primer idioma”, dijo Loría. “Estamos viendo progreso en esa área, pero creo que todavía quedan cosas por mejorar”.</p><p>Este año el distrito agregó maestros dedicados al desarrollo del idioma inglés a cada escuela primaria.</p><p>Raven-Syamone Wattley, maestra en la primaria Rose Hill, dijo que esto ha marcado una gran diferencia, aunque muchos maestros en la escuela han recibido capacitación especial también. Antes, los maestros en Rose Hill tenían que dividir sus clases y clasificar a los estudiantes según su dominio de inglés cuando llegaba la hora de la clase de inglés.</p><p>Esto significaba que ella recibía estudiantes adicionales que tenía que atender además de sus clases regulares.</p><p>Ahora al tener un maestro o maestra de desarrollo del idioma de inglés asignado, ella se puede enfocar en sus estudiantes y en cómo incorporar la instrucción de inglés en el resto del día.</p><p>“Ha sido una diferencia enorme al momento de planificar. Ahora es una materia menos” dijo Wattley. “El desarrollo del idioma inglés ha mejorado drásticamente”.</p><p>Mientras los líderes del distrito trabajan para mejorar la instrucción de los estudiantes bilingües, ellos creen que el sistema estatal los juzga injustamente porque muchos de esos estudiantes todavía no dominan el inglés. Cuando los estudiantes de primer y segundo grado tomaron este año el ampliamente usado examen STAR, <a href="https://datastudio.google.com/u/0/reporting/5ac8f8b5-588e-448f-a8f4-8148bc4be452/page/p_83ufr9iyzc?s=ssobUsL8zYA">casi un 60% de los estudiantes que lo tomaron en español cumplieron las normas</a>, en comparación con solo un 23.5% de los que lo tomaron en inglés.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/px2ZPoCrPP9PFTD65MmZmEASPcI=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/UOBIAMRTWFGQTFV6TTKFLI4BWY.jpg" alt="Luis Camas, director de Rose Hill (en el centro), asegura que los niños se suban a los autos de sus padres después de la escuela. Sus cinco años en la escuela han ayudado a tener consistencia y crecimiento académico." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Luis Camas, director de Rose Hill (en el centro), asegura que los niños se suban a los autos de sus padres después de la escuela. Sus cinco años en la escuela han ayudado a tener consistencia y crecimiento académico.</figcaption></figure><h2>Enfoque del distrito en el liderazgo de los directores</h2><p>Antes de la pandemia, Rose Hill enfrentaba la posibilidad de una intervención estatal si recibía otra mala calificación de desempeño.</p><p>Pero este otoño la calificación estatal de Rose Hill subió a nivel de <i>Improvement</i> (mejoró), el segundo nivel más alto. Este nivel de mejora necesita continuar el próximo año para que la escuela no tenga una intervención por el estado.</p><p>Camas dijo que su tiempo en la escuela le ha permitido establecer una cultura y sistemas en los que los maestros saben cómo analizar los datos y hablar sobre la planificación de lecciones. Él también es uno de siete directores de Adams 14 que asistieron a un programa de liderazgo en la Universidad de Virginia.</p><p>Loría dijo que le ha dado prioridad a que el personal del distrito apoye a los directores para que ellos puedan enfocarse, como Camas, en dirigir la labor educativa de los maestros en vez de tener cargas administrativas pesadas o asistir a largas juntas sobre los aspectos de administrar una escuela que no están relacionados con instrucción.</p><p>En Rose Hill, Camas ha agregado un periodo nuevo de planificación para los maestros, que ahora tienen dos cada día. Aunque él hubiese preferido no darles más tareas a los ya sobrecargados maestros, ellos se le acercaron y pidieron que empezara un programa de tutoría en las tardes.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/RGwnzxk3X0gc9loOh_kaI1kyv7k=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/54IQKCU62VCWFCMKVBOX2KOYPQ.jpg" alt="Los estudiantes de Rose Hill tienen acceso a programas en las tardes, entre ellos un club de competencias para apilar vasos." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Los estudiantes de Rose Hill tienen acceso a programas en las tardes, entre ellos un club de competencias para apilar vasos.</figcaption></figure><h2>Se acercan programas vocacionales en Adams City</h2><p>La Escuela Secundaria Adams City es la única secundaria de programa completo en el distrito. Ha obtenido calificaciones deficientes del estado desde 2010, y tiene su propio plan de mejoras.</p><p>Por más de una década, los líderes del distrito han hablado acerca de crear programas vocacionales más estructurados, o academias, en adición a las clases vocacionales que la escuela ya ofrece.</p><p>Muchos padres quieren estos programas, y los educadores piensan que motivaría a los estudiantes y les abriría puertas después de graduarse. Los estudiantes que participan en programas vocacionales tienen más probabilidad de graduarse, pero en 2019 solamente una cuarta parte de ellos estaban participando.</p><p>Ahora el distrito quiere crear programas integrados que conecten el enfoque vocacional de cada academia durante todo el día en materias como matemáticas, lectura, y otras. Las cuatro academias serán: ciencias de salud y servicios humanos; arquitectura, construcción, ingeniería y diseño; negocios, hospitalidad y turismo; y finalmente, información y tecnología.</p><p>El próximo año, los estudiantes de noveno grado explorarán todas las cuatro durante el primer semestre y luego seleccionarán una para el resto de sus años en la secundaria.</p><p>“No importa si esa será su profesión o no, de todos modos estarán preparados para entrar el mundo laboral”, dijo Ron Hruby, el director de educación vocacional y técnica del distrito. “Por ejemplo, nuestros estudiantes van a poder trabajar a tiempo parcial como flebotomistas — imagínense la cantidad de dinero adicional que podrían recibir”.</p><p>Una subvención estatal de $900,000 pagará por parte de las modificaciones a la secundaria.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/l9qwAjX5hncg7mwscXQkLMvgZyE=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/RQSXB333IRHOJFYVBQ5LM665C4.jpg" alt="Misael Díaz (al centro), en décimo grado en la Secundaria Adams City, elabora un plato durante una clase de cocina 2019 ProStart en la escuela." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Misael Díaz (al centro), en décimo grado en la Secundaria Adams City, elabora un plato durante una clase de cocina 2019 ProStart en la escuela.</figcaption></figure><h2>Escuela de la comunidad es parte clave de los esfuerzos del distrito</h2><p>La Escuela Primaria Central también tiene su propio plan de mejoras después de haber tenido calificaciones deficientes desde 2012. La escuela está destinada a ser la primera escuela de la comunidad en el distrito — un modelo que trata de resolver factores externos al salón de clases que afectan el aprendizaje.</p><p>Un coordinador a tiempo completo está trabajando con la escuela para determinar las necesidades de las familias e identificar qué servicios se necesitan. Esos servicios podrían incluir un banco de alimentos, una clínica, o un programa de ayuda para encontrar empleo para los padres. Es un modelo que algunas personas quisieran expandir a otras escuelas aparte de la Primaria Central. Más de un 71% de los estudiantes de Adams 14 califican para comidas gratuitas o a precio reducido (una medida de pobreza) y muchas familias tienen problemas de salud que ellos entienden están relacionados con factores ambientales.</p><p>El distrito también ha creado incentivos especiales para que las personas trabajen en la primaria Central.</p><p>Jason Malmberg, presidente de la unión de maestros del distrito, dice que a su entender, esta es la mayor diferencia en estos planes de mejora del distrito.</p><p>“El distrito ahora ha asignado el dinero donde lo han prometido” dijo Malmberg. “Esto es como todo — no se puede simplemente comprar una etiqueta para ponérsela al edificio. La idea es que se estaría respondiendo a las barreras de aprendizaje específicas para esa comunidad. Hay un contexto importante en las vidas de los niños. Y ya no es algo que opinan solo los maestros o las familias. Es una idea que viene desde arriba, es un cambio en la cultura”.</p><p><i>Yesenia Robles es reportera para Chalkbeat Colorado y cubre asuntos relacionados con los distritos escolares K-12 y la educación multilingüe. Para comunicarte con Yesenia, envíale un mensaje a </i><a href="mailto:yrobles@chalkbeat.org"><i>yrobles@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p><p><br/></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2022/12/15/23511828/adams-14-plan-mejorar-educacion-adams-city-high-school/Yesenia Robles2022-05-20T20:19:20+00:002023-12-22T21:26:36+00:00<p><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/13/23071806/adams-14-lose-accreditation-reorganization-explained-questions"><i>Read in English.</i></a></p><p>El distrito escolar Adams 14 será el primero de Colorado <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/10/23066191/adams-14-district-reorganization-state-board-education-new-orders">obligado a comenzar un proceso de reorganización</a> después de años de rendimiento académico deficiente en el sistema de contabilidad del sistema.</p><p>Como es la primera vez que la ley se usará de esta manera, hay muchas preguntas sobre cómo funcionará y qué significa. Aquí intentaremos contestar algunas preguntas importantes de las familias.</p><h2>¿Se afectarán o tendrán menos valor los diplomas de los estudiantes porque el distrito perdió su acreditación?</h2><p>No. El estado acredita los distritos como parte de su sistema de evaluación, pero perder la acreditación no tiene impacto en los fondos del distrito, los diplomas de los estudiantes ni la elegibilidad de los estudiantes para ir a la universidad o recibir becas. La comisionada del departamento de educación Katy Anthes dijo que la pérdida de acreditación no debe perjudicar a los estudiantes de ninguna manera. Tampoco tiene impacto en ninguna de las operaciones diarias de las escuelas.</p><p>En vez de eso, su propósito es avisarle a la comunidad que este distrito escolar lleva “demasiado tiempo” teniendo un desempeño deficiente según las calificaciones del estado, dijo ella.</p><h2>¿Qué es una reorganización, y cuándo comenzará?</h2><p>Hay dos leyes estatales que describen cómo iniciar una reorganización, un proceso para consolidar, anexar o crear distritos escolares. La que seleccionó la junta estatal requerirá una votación para ser aprobada por los electores del estado.</p><p><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22014772-school-district-reorganization-process-en">El proceso comienza con</a> la creación de un comité compuesto por miembros de la junta y padres de los distritos afectados y que determinará los límites geográficos del distrito. Ese plan puede tener muchas formas, lo cual incluye crear un distrito nuevo con los mismos límites geográficos de Adams 14 (es decir, volver a crear el mismo distrito), o permitir que otros distritos vecinos adopten partes del distrito Adams 14 actual.</p><p>El comité sería formado después de redactar y finalizar las órdenes de la junta estatal, algo que podría tomar un par de semanas.</p><h2>¿Van a cerrar las escuelas?</h2><p>Por ahora no se cerrará ninguna escuela como resultado de la decisión de la junta estatal. Cuando el comité de reorganización se reúna para crear el plan a seguir, puede cerrar escuelas como parte de los cambios pero no tiene que hacerlo. Se anticipa que el proceso tome mucho tiempo, y no se completará antes de que comience el próximo año.</p><p>Adams 14 como tal, sin embargo, está considerando cerrar algunas escuelas en sus propios planes. El lunes, después de protestas de los padres, el superintendente retiró un plan para cerrar la Elemental Hanson y transferir a los estudiantes existentes a la Mónaco en el otoño. Los líderes dijeron que el cierre propuesto se necesitaba debido a una reducción en la matrícula, y para mover estudiantes de la escuela secundaria alternativa al edificio Hanson, que tiene una cafetería y espacio para más programas (algo que el edificio actual no tiene). Ramona Lewis, presidente de la junta, les dijo a los padres que ellos van a dedicar más tiempo a considerar otras opciones.</p><p>La clausura de Hanson es solo uno de los muchos cierres o combinaciones de escuelas sugeridos en una <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/co/cde/Board.nsf/files/CE6TT7711C65/$file/Appendix%20B%20-%20Facilities%20Master%20Plan%20-%20Options%20-%20January%2024%2C%202020.pdf">evaluación de las instalaciones de Adams 14</a> hecha en enero de 2020.</p><h2>¿Qué tal con los padres que quieren enviar a sus hijos a otras escuelas?</h2><p>Colorado permite inscripción abierta, y los padres siempre tienen el derecho de enviar a sus hijos a cualquier escuela que tenga espacio. Más de 3,000 estudiantes que viven dentro de los límites geográficos de Adams 14 ya están asistiendo a las escuelas de distritos vecinos.</p><p>A partir del próximo año escolar, algunas familias podrían recibir asistencia del estado para el transporte. Los detalles todavía se están definiendo, pero la Junta Estatal de Educación aprobó planes para <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/4/29/23049421/school-choice-colorado-bus-transportation-adams-14-school-district">desarrollar un programa de subvenciones para cubrir los costos de transporte de las familias</a> de las escuelas con desempeño más deficiente.</p><h2>¿Cómo participará la comunidad en los planes de reorganización?</h2><p>Primero, se requiere que al menos un padre de cada uno de los distritos afectados — Adams 14, Mapleton, Adams 12 y 27J — sea parte del comité. Los padres serán seleccionados por los comités de responsabilidad de los distritos. Luego, las reuniones del comité de reorganización tienen que estar abiertas al público. Cuando el comité tenga un borrador del plan, se requiere que tenga reuniones con la comunidad para presentarlo y recibir comentarios y retroalimentación. El comité debe entonces tomar esa retroalimentación en cuenta para finalizar el plan y luego presentarlo al estado para que lo aprueben.</p><p>Una vez el plan sea aprobado por el comisionado, entonces será presentado a los votantes. Finalmente, los votantes de los distritos afectados tendrán la última voz para aprobar o rechazar el plan.</p><h2>¿El distrito puede apelar la decisión del estado de iniciar una reorganización?</h2><p>Aunque no hay un proceso formal de apelación, se espera que el distrito desafíe las órdenes del estado ante los tribunales. Joe Salazar, uno de los abogados de Adams 14, dice que cree que al estado se le requería tener un proceso de apelación para las órdenes de la junta fuera de los tribunales. Los funcionarios de educación del estado dijeron que a su entender, ese requisito no existe.</p><h2>¿El distrito tendrá una nueva compañía de administración?</h2><p>Como el proceso para reorganizar el distrito tomará mucho tiempo, la junta estatal también aprobó una orden que requiere que Adams 14 nuevamente contrate una compañía de administración externa. La junta estatal quiere que el distrito esté bajo administración completa, igual que cuando era administrado por MGT Consulting, pero esta vez está permitiendo que el distrito retenga control de sus propias finanzas.</p><p>Sin embargo, los líderes de Adams 14 están procediendo con negociaciones para contratar a la empresa sin fines de lucro TNTP como administradores, pero bajo el plan existente de que sean administradores parciales. El abogado del distrito y otros líderes del distrito ahora piensan que <a href="https://www.boarddocs.com/co/cde/Board.nsf/files/B6X3JQ7BC2D7/$file/Adams%2014%20Final%20Order_Signed%2011.27.18%20.pdf">la orden del estado en 2018</a> para que el superintendente renunciara su autoridad es ilegal. En el plan de administración parcial, ellos le darían a TNTP completa autoridad sobre el departamento de recursos humanos, pero no la autoridad para contratar o despedir empleados.</p><p>Esta fue una inquietud de los miembros de la junta estatal durante la audiencia de esta semana. Los líderes de Adams 14 todavía alegan que el plan es suficiente para cumplir la orden del estado. Se anticipa que esta sea otra área en la que el estado y el distrito podrían no estar de acuerdo.</p><p><i>Yesenia Robles es reportera para Chalkbeat Colorado y cubre asuntos relacionados con los distritos escolares K-12 y la educación multilingüe. Comunícate con Yesenia escribiéndole a </i><a href="mailto:yrobles@chalkbeat.org"><i>yrobles@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2022/5/20/23132898/reorganizacion-adams-14-lo-que-necesitas-saber/Yesenia Robles2022-06-02T09:58:00+00:002023-12-22T21:26:16+00:00<p><a href="https://chalkbeat.admin.usechorus.com/e/22907056"><i>Read in English.</i></a></p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/hkSocrP734Sr_2YRhHN_uP3m1rg=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/HB4WIXLF6BHHVDUVLMVIVOTWYU.png" alt="" height="960" width="1440"/></figure><p>Cuando Rosa Beltran estaba en <i>high school</i> a finales de los años 1990 en un pequeño poblado en el sur de Colorado, nunca pensó que se graduaría.</p><p>“Mis padres estaban muy preocupados por trabajar y poner comida sobre la mesa. Creo que tampoco tuve ese apoyo en la escuela”, Beltran dijo sobre su <i>high school</i> en Center, una comunidad agrícola mayormente hispana en el valle de San Luis.</p><p>Beltran dejó de ir a la escuela y se convirtió en madre adolescente. Pero decidió que sus hijos terminarían la escuela.</p><p>“Siempre me lo inculcaron; voy a graduarme, voy a ir a la universidad”, dijo Marisa, su hija mayor ahora de 25 años. “Nada de peros.”</p><p>Antes del noveno grado, Marisa descubrió que podía tomar clases universitarias como estudiante de <i>high school</i>. La escuela la transportaba en autobús a y desde el campus universitario.</p><p>“Era una escuela muy pequeña y alentadora”, dijo.</p><p>Marisa Beltran se graduó de Pueblo en 2015, durante una década en la que la tasa de graduación hispana en Colorado aumentó casi 20 puntos porcentuales, el doble de lo que aumentó la tasa entre todos los estudiantes, y más rápido que entre cualquier otro grupo demográfico.</p><p>Las tasas de graduación hispana aumentaron radicalmente por múltiples razones, incluidas nuevas estrategias escolares, mejores condiciones económicas y la intensa determinación de las familias. Sin embargo, las tasas de graduación de <i>high school</i> y universitaria entre los hispanos siguen siendo más bajas que las de los estudiantes blancos. Y con la pandemia generando un alto costo en el bienestar de las familias hispanas, muchos se preocupan de que también reduzca gradualmente los recientes avances en educación.</p><p>Chalkbeat examinó las tasas de graduación de <i>high school</i> como parte de “Buscando Avances”, un proyecto de Colorado News Collaborative sobre la equidad social, económica y en salud de los coloradenses negros e hispanos. Graduarse de <i>high school</i> es clave para continuar con una educación superior, obtener mejores trabajos y ganar mayores salarios.</p><p>Entre 2010 y 2020, las tasas de graduación de <i>high school</i> entre los estudiantes hispanos, quienes ahora constituyen más de un tercio de todos los estudiantes de kindergarten a 12º grado en Colorado, subieron del 55.5 al 75.4 por ciento, un marcado aumento.</p><p>“Definitivamente debieron haber subido; había mucha oportunidad para que aumentaran”, dijo Jim Chavez, director ejecutivo de la Latin American Educational Foundation.</p><p>Otra señal del progreso alcanzado fue que la tasa de estudiantes hispanos que abandonaron sus estudios se redujo casi por la mitad, al 2.8 por ciento, y la tasa de estudiantes universitarios hispanos que necesitaron clases compensatorias disminuyó.</p><p>Pero sigue siendo menos probable que los estudiantes hispanos asistan a la universidad, y dos veces más probable que necesiten clases compensatorias, en comparación con los estudiantes blancos.</p><p>Por lo tanto, aun cuando los estudiantes se gradúan de <i>high school</i>, con frecuencia enfrentan una difícil trayectoria, Chavez dijo.</p><p>Y la pandemia amenaza una década de avances, ya que las familias hispanas se han visto muy afectadas por la pérdida de trabajo, muerte y enfermedad grave debido a COVID, y por interrupciones en el aprendizaje. La tasa de graduación hispana disminuyó 1.2 por ciento el año pasado, mientras que la tasa entre estudiantes blancos aumentó. Las pérdidas podrían continuar conforme los estudiantes más pequeños, quienes se vieron más afectados durante la pandemia, se abren camino hacia <i>high school</i>.</p><p>Para entender los cambios, Chalkbeat habló con más de una docena de educadores, activistas, padres y estudiantes y analizó datos de los distritos escolares para encontrar a aquellos distritos en los que los estudiantes hispanos ahora tienen una tasa de graduación más alta que el promedio estatal para ese grupo. La tasa de graduación hispana disminuyó en solo un distrito grande entre 2010 y 2020, el Distrito 49. Este distrito no le dio una entrevista a Chalkbeat.</p><h2>Políticas estatales y federales impulsaron las tasas de graduación</h2><p>Para identificar las causas de estos recientes avances, algunos atribuyen políticas establecidas hace más de una década en Colorado. Cuando el exgobernador Bill Ritter fue elegido en 2006, <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2007/10/10/gov-ritters-promises-arent-term-limited/">estableció una meta de reducir la tasa del abandono escolar</a> por la mitad en 10 años. Luego, en 2008, legisladores en Colorado establecieron nuevas metas para la educación pública y en 2009 empezaron a evaluar cada <i>high school</i> en parte según su tasa de graduación.</p><p>Eso puso presión en los distritos escolares para que aumentaran sus logros y tasas de graduación, y generó un sistema de organizaciones no lucrativas y consultores para proporcionar ayuda.</p><p>Factores sociales también contribuyeron. Por ejemplo, en la década que terminó en 2020, la tasa de embarazos entre adolescentes hispanas de 15 a 19 años en Colorado disminuyó radicalmente, de 66.8 por cada 100,000 adolescentes a 24.4 por cada 100,000, lo cual ayudó a que más adolescentes continuaran sus estudios.</p><p>Las familias hispanas obtuvieron avances económicos en la última década que quizás hayan disminuido la presión de trabajar y estudiar al mismo tiempo entre los adolescentes. Los ingresos medios por hogar entre las personas latinas, según datos del Censo, fueron de $57,790 en 2020, un aumento del 26 por ciento cuando se ajusta según la inflación.</p><p>Además, un aplazamiento federal contra la amenaza de deportación quizás haya aumentado el valor de la educación entre los estudiantes indocumentados. En diciembre, Colorado tenía 13,720 beneficiarios de lo que se conoce como el programa DACA, según el <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/deferred-action-childhood-arrivals-daca-profiles">Migration Policy Institute</a>.</p><p>En la familia Beltran, mamá Rosa ha notado que las escuelas de sus hijos son más alentadoras que cuando ella fue a la escuela. Ha visto a sus hijos hablar con reclutadores universitarios y tener múltiples oportunidades para pensar sobre un futuro después de <i>high school</i>.</p><p>Sin embargo, su hija Marisa dijo que ella y su hermano necesitaron más ayuda.</p><p>“Tuvimos que encontrar [servicios de] tutoría, ayudarnos entre nosotros y pedir ayuda externa”, Beltran dijo. “La encontramos, pero tuvimos que descifrarlo nosotros solos”.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/rrjnzCTZIK9DjJptBSEUwfBAG7Q=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/YCCRXGAGSNEQDL7RZYHLFAEXY4.jpg" alt="“Siempre me lo inculcaron; voy a graduarme, voy a ir a la universidad”, dijo Marisa Beltran, quien se graduó de la Universidad de Grand Canyon y ahora está estudiando una maestría." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>“Siempre me lo inculcaron; voy a graduarme, voy a ir a la universidad”, dijo Marisa Beltran, quien se graduó de la Universidad de Grand Canyon y ahora está estudiando una maestría.</figcaption></figure><h2>El noveno grado es un año crucial</h2><p>Steve Dobo, fundador y director ejecutivo de Zero Dropouts, atribuye los avances en las tasas de graduación a la habilidad de las escuelas para analizar minuciosamente los datos, lo cual antes no era una práctica común.</p><p>Dijo que las organizaciones no lucrativas ayudaron a los distritos a separar subgrupos de estudiantes con dificultades, según su grupo racial, género, nivel de grado u otros factores, para diseñar soluciones específicas.</p><p>“Los distritos con los que trabajamos verdaderamente empezaron a entender que realmente necesitas mejorar en el noveno grado”, Dobo dijo.</p><p>Varios distritos se enfocaron en estudiantes que entraban a <i>high school</i>. Después de que el superintendente Rico Munn llegó a Aurora en 2013, encontró que muchos estudiantes de noveno grado no estaban recibiendo horarios completos con clases obligatorias.</p><p>“Si empiezas a desviarte del camino en el noveno grado, eso es un problema”, Munn dijo.</p><p>El distrito examinó datos para identificar problemas y a los estudiantes que necesitaban ayuda, y luego trabajó para cambiar sistemas y la cultura escolar, Munn dijo. Aurora también abrió <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2016/1/26/21096027/college-center-first-of-its-kind-in-aurora-puts-students-on-path-for-life-after-high-school">un centro de orientación universitaria y vocacional</a> en cada <i>high school</i>. Los <a href="https://aurorak12.org/2021/08/30/new-college-career-centers-bring-access-to-100-of-aps-students/">más nuevos</a> se inauguraron el otoño pasado.</p><p>En 2010, Aurora tenía una tasa de graduación hispana de solo 34.2 por ciento, pero la tasa casi se duplicó, el mayor aumento entre los distritos más grandes de Colorado, a 76.4 por ciento en 2020, antes de bajar un poco el año pasado.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/Ib6cSEScREX2WTrcR42HXL5WBME=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/OWFVBGCPOBCOJLJHSOEC4VZLVQ.jpg" alt="El distrito de las Escuelas Pública de Aurora abrió centros universitarios y vocacionales en cada high school como parte de una estrategia para mejorar la tasa de graduación y los resultados de la educación postsecundaria." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>El distrito de las Escuelas Pública de Aurora abrió centros universitarios y vocacionales en cada high school como parte de una estrategia para mejorar la tasa de graduación y los resultados de la educación postsecundaria.</figcaption></figure><p>Las intervenciones con frecuencia tienen que ver con “enseñarles cómo ser un estudiante de <i>high school</i>”, mantenerse organizados y pedir ayuda a sus maestros, dijo Susannah Halbrook, una intervencionista de noveno grado con Zero Dropouts.</p><p>En Greeley, la intervención temprana significa dar seguimiento a los estudiantes de noveno grado para crear planes individuales que los ayuden a evitar el fracaso.</p><p>“Hace años, la mayoría de nuestros recursos se invertían en estudiantes que ya tenían tres o cuatro efes en su expediente académico”, dijo Deirdre Pilch, superintendenta de las escuelas de Greeley-Evans en el Distrito 6.</p><p>Ahora, dijo, “tan pronto una calificación empieza a bajar a D, intervenimos”.</p><h2>Ayuda cuando se necesita</h2><p>Andy Tucker, director de preparación postsecundaria y laboral en el departamento estatal de educación, dijo que ha visto a distritos ser “mucho más intencionados” en el trabajo de equidad, “en incluir a aquellos estudiantes que quizás caigan en esas brechas”.</p><p>Greeley, por ejemplo, promueve <a href="https://tammi-vandrunen.squarespace.com/what-we-do">su programa de verano</a> enfocado en <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/11/30/22796554/college-higher-education-hispanic-latino-men-colorado-problems-solutions">niños hispanos</a>, el subgrupo con menos probabilidad de graduarse.</p><p>A Saul Sanchez, de 18 años, lo invitaron a unirse después de que reprobara algunas clases su primer año de <i>high school</i>. Dudaba que terminaría la escuela.</p><p>“No me gustaba la escuela para nada”, dijo Sanchez, quien se acaba de graduar de Northridge High School en Greeley. “Odiaba el hecho de tener tarea”.</p><p>Consejeros y otras personas intentaban preguntarle cómo andaban las cosas cuando no le iba bien, pero Sanchez no creía que les importara.</p><p>Pero el Programa de Recuperación para Estudiantes le abrió los ojos. Recibió ayuda para ponerse al día con sus créditos. Los consejeros dieron seguimiento a su progreso.</p><p>“Siempre estaban encima de mí”, dijo. Le preguntaban si se había acordado de entregar sus tareas o estudiar para exámenes. “En ese entonces pensaba que era una molestia que siguieran insistiendo”.</p><p>Pero en algún momento durante su experiencia escolar, Sanchez se dio cuenta de que era todo para su beneficio. Y se hizo amigo de los otros estudiantes, quienes se ayudaban entre ellos. Sanchez se convirtió en el estudiante a quienes todos acudían para pedir ayuda con matemáticas. La ayuda mutua rindió frutos. Casi todos los estudiantes de último año en el programa se graduaron.</p><h2>Preparándose para el futuro</h2><p>Otro factor quizás sea que más estudiantes están tomando cursos que ofrecen créditos tanto de <i>high school</i> como universitarios. Los cursos pueden ofrecerse en un colegio comunitario o universidad, o en una <i>high school</i>. Los distritos escolares cubren los costos.</p><p>Conocido como matriculación simultánea, este programa reemplazó opciones más limitadas en 2009. Datos demuestran que más estudiantes de todos los grupos están tomando cursos de matriculación simultánea, pero es menos probable que los estudiantes hispanos aprovechen el programa en comparación con los estudiantes blancos.</p><p>Alexandra Reyes Amaya, quien se graduó de Hinkley High School en Aurora en 2020, dijo que el programa le dio la seguridad de que estaba preparada para la universidad. Pero solo se enteró del programa a través del hermano mayor de una amiga, apenas con suficiente tiempo en su último año de <i>high school</i>. Tomó clases por la noche para incluir más en su horario.</p><p>Ahora, ya en la universidad, está en camino a graduarse un año antes.</p><p>Pero la universidad solo es una vía hacia el éxito, y los distritos deseosos de mantener a los estudiantes interesados en regresar a la escuela también están ampliando oportunidades para cursar estudios vocacionales y técnicos.</p><p>Chavez de la fundación de becas advirtió que los mensajes que dicen que la universidad no es para todos están limitando el progreso de los estudiantes latinos.</p><p>“Se han enfocado y escuchado muy desproporcionadamente entre los adolescentes negros y latinos”, Chavez dijo. “Quizás ganen un buen salario, pero los están limitando de una carrera con mayores ingresos potenciales. Realmente los están limitando de un puesto donde tomen decisiones, un puesto de liderazgo”.</p><h2>Cambiando las definiciones del éxito</h2><p>El aumento en las tasas de graduación también refleja una reevaluación de cómo las escuelas definen el éxito. Varios distritos escolares han estado considerando nuevamente lo que se necesita para aprobar una clase. Conocidas en conjunto como la calificación basada en estándares, nuevas pautas animan a los maestros a que tomen en cuenta toda evidencia del aprendizaje de un estudiante.</p><p>Mark Cousins, un director regional con Zero Dropouts y exdirector de una <i>high school</i> en Greeley, dijo que con frecuencia habla con maestros que no otorgan ningún crédito por tarea que reciben tarde. Cree que dar un crédito parcial disminuye la probabilidad de que el estudiante fracase.</p><p>“¿Me estás diciendo que una tarea no vale nada?” Cousins dijo.</p><p>Algunos distritos han creado opciones que establecen una meta diferente, a veces menos alta, para que los estudiantes se gradúen. Colorado no requiere que los estudiantes tomen un examen para graduarse, como lo hacen otros estados. En lugar de eso, cada distrito puede establecer sus propios requisitos de graduación.</p><p>Para la generación que se graduó en 2022, el estado amplió la meta al requerir que los distritos demuestren que sus estudiantes dominan el inglés y las matemáticas. Como evidencia, los distritos pueden usar múltiples factores, como los resultados del SAT, la aprobación de un curso universitario o un proyecto estudiantil.</p><p>Thompson y Pueblo crearon nuevas opciones para que sus estudiantes obtengan su diploma de <i>high school</i>. Desde el año pasado, Thompson ha estado permitiendo que sus estudiantes se gradúen con menos créditos optativos si ya aprobaron los requisitos principales, como inglés, matemáticas y ciencias.</p><p>“Igual sabemos que estamos proporcionando un diploma sólido”, dijo Theo Robison, director de estudios secundarios en Thompson.</p><p>Los diplomas de Pueblo requieren la misma cantidad de créditos, pero diferentes clases, como un curso técnico de matemáticas, para ciertas carreras profesionales.</p><p>“Solo son diferentes vías que llevan al mismo camino”, dijo Charlotte Macaluso, superintendenta del distrito escolar de Pueblo.</p><p>Sin embargo, a algunas personas les preocupa que las escuelas estén aprobando a los estudiantes sin educarlos bien, solo para mejorar las tasas de graduación.</p><p>“Reducir los estándares es algo que se ha hecho a lo largo del tiempo”, dijo Joe Molina, un defensor latino en el norte de Colorado. Dice que cuando se graduó en 1992, solo podía leer a nivel de tercer grado, y luego aprendió más por sí solo. “¿Realmente estamos proporcionando más oportunidades?”</p><p>Un factor que los líderes escolares toman en cuenta para asegurar que sus avances sean reales son las tasas de estudiantes que toman clases compensatorias. En Colorado la tasa de estudiantes universitarios hispanos que necesitaron clases compensatorias disminuyó 16 puntos porcentuales al 43.8 por ciento.</p><p>Permitir que los estudiantes visualicen varias posibilidades para su futuro los ayuda a seguir participando y en camino a graduarse, dijo Jordan Bills, una consejera en los centros vocacionales de Aurora. Bills ha llevado a estudiantes para que visiten universidades y los ha conectado con profesionales o con reclutadores militares. También ha ayudado a las familias para que sepan sobre las diversas formas de pagar por la universidad.</p><p>“Nuestro trabajo es reducir la brecha de los conocimientos”, Bills dijo. “Tiene que haber un poco de autonomía y opciones, darles más, la autonomía de ser quienes conducen su vida”.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/q46sXIKwZy9T_dz2pHl0u12mikc=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/7HYJIVN4C5FPVBZTAT6S3O6EWU.jpg" alt="Jordan Bills, la consejera en William Smith High School en Aurora, habla con Eli Garcia, de 17 años, centro, y Jeffrey Forbis, de 18, derecha, mientras los dos estudiantes se preparan para asistir a la Universidad de Colorado el próximo otoño." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Jordan Bills, la consejera en William Smith High School en Aurora, habla con Eli Garcia, de 17 años, centro, y Jeffrey Forbis, de 18, derecha, mientras los dos estudiantes se preparan para asistir a la Universidad de Colorado el próximo otoño.</figcaption></figure><h2>La pandemia presenta nuevos desafíos</h2><p>Con vistas al futuro, lo que más les preocupa a los líderes de los distritos son los estudiantes ausentes y desinteresados.</p><p>“El principal factor que ahora estamos tratando de entender familia por familia es por qué un estudiante se ausenta continuamente”, dijo Munn, el superintendente de Aurora. “Estamos escuchando más y más que ‘están trabajando’, o que están cuidando a alguien mientras sus parientes trabajan”.</p><p>Charlotte Ciancio, superintendenta del distrito escolar de Mapleton, está pensando en ofrecer aprendizaje virtual o híbrido para estudiantes que ya no consideran valioso pasar todo el día sentados en un salón de clases.</p><p>“¿Es un día escolar la cantidad adecuada de horas?” Ciancio dijo.</p><p>En Pueblo, la superintendenta Macaluso dijo que los estudiantes que estaban viviendo en la pobreza ahora también deben lidiar con el aislamiento, el trauma, el dolor y la pérdida.</p><p>“Cuando ya estás enfrentando dificultades, esas cosas tienen un gran impacto”, dijo.</p><p>“Todos se han visto afectados, de una u otra forma”, Molina dijo, lo cual afecta la forma como los estudiantes participan en su educación. “Hay mucha gente sin esperanza y solo tratando de vivir en el momento”.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/mNGyIv1HS_cAsZXzHu4Yy31eNk0=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/IYJV4EBSFNBQHM3HYAKEJUS56M.jpg" alt="Marisa Beltran se benefició al estudiar en un ambiente escolar más alentador que el de sus padres, pero igual tuvo que buscar oportunidades por sí misma. " height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Marisa Beltran se benefició al estudiar en un ambiente escolar más alentador que el de sus padres, pero igual tuvo que buscar oportunidades por sí misma. </figcaption></figure><h2>Avanzando</h2><p>En medio de ese desafío diario, el avance académico continuo en general es difícil de apreciar. Pero es evidente en historias individuales.</p><p>Rosa Beltran dijo que está orgullosa de sus tres hijos, incluidos dos que fueron a la universidad.</p><p>“Mi mamá fue la que presionó a mi papá para que viniera a los Estados Unidos, ese fue su sacrificio por nosotros”, Beltran dijo. “Yo sacrifiqué mucho al no poder estar tanto con mis hijos porque tuve que trabajar”.</p><p>“Ahora es solo este orgullo que llevas contigo. Mis esperanzas para ellos son que tengan una carrera para que puedan mantener a sus familias y no tengan que preocuparse”, dijo. “Que tengan un trabajo estable y [que] tengan seguro. Mis padres siempre se tuvieron que preocupar. Mi esposo y yo siempre nos tuvimos que preocupar”.</p><p>Esos sacrificios y esperanzas son el motor que impulsan lo que los estudiantes llaman “ganas”: su fuerza de voluntad.</p><p>“Si no fuera por los sacrificios de mis padres, no estaría aquí”, Marisa Beltran dijo. “Por eso me aseguraré de que todo su trabajo no haya sido en vano”.</p><p><i>Yesenia Robles es una reportera de Chalkbeat Colorado dedicada a cubrir temas sobre los distritos K-12 y la educación multilingüe. Comunícate con Yesenia enviándole un mensaje a yrobles@chalkbeat.org.</i></p><p><br/></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2022/6/2/23147013/decada-grandes-avances-las-tasas-de-graduacion-high-school-estudiantes-hispanos-colorado/Yesenia Robles2023-08-10T19:23:13+00:002023-12-22T21:12:48+00:00<p><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/7/23823782/adams-14-first-day-school-adams-city-high-turnaround"><i><b>Read in English</b></i></a></p><p><i>Chalkbeat Colorado es un noticiero local sin fines de lucro que informa sobre las escuelas públicas en Denver y otros distritos. </i><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/en-espanol"><i>Suscríbete a nuestro boletín gratis por email en español</i></a><i> para recibir lo último en noticias sobre educación.</i></p><p>Poniéndose a la delantera de la mayoría de los estudiantes en distritos escolares alrededor del estado, los estudiantes en Adams 14 empezaron un nuevo año escolar esta semana—nerviosos, emocionados y con curiosidad sobre los posibles cambios que el distrito quizás implemente.</p><p>Se espera que Adams 14 haga modificaciones como parte de cambios importantes por ser el primer distrito en el estado que recibiera una orden de reorganización después de muchos años de bajas calificaciones en evaluaciones de desempeño. La mayoría de los padres y estudiantes no sabían que habría cambios, y algunos tenían curiosidad de saber qué se aproxima.</p><p>La mayoría de los estudiantes en la <i>high school</i> no sabían sobre los <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/7/23499212/adams-14-school-improvement-plan-adams-city-high-school-community-schools">planes de la escuela de crear academias técnicas</a> en ciencias de la salud y servicios humanos; arquitectura, construcción, ingeniería y diseño; negocios, hotelería y restaurantes/bares y turismo; e, información digital y tecnología. El distrito dijo que los estudiantes de noveno grado terminarán por elegir una de las cuatro academias, o vías, que pueden darles certificaciones junto con su diploma de <i>high school</i>.</p><p>Algunos estudiantes no esperan que mucho cambie. Sin embargo, muchos ya tenían sus horarios en mano cuando entraron a la escuela—una mejora importante en comparación con los últimos años cuando los estudiantes dijeron que tuvieron que esperar varios días en el auditorio para recibir un horario.</p><p>En la escuela Primaria Monaco el lunes, los padres llegaron acompañando a sus pequeños, con mochilas llenas, cajas de pañuelos y otros materiales, para esperar a que sus maestros los llevaran a su primer día de clases.</p><p>Este año, Monaco está recibiendo a estudiantes de la antigua escuela Primaria Hanson, la cual el distrito cerró debido a reducciones en el número de estudiantes inscritos y para tener más espacio para la <i>high school</i> alternativa. Padres de algunos estudiantes de Hanson dijeron que sus hijos estaban nerviosos, pero afortunadamente encontraron antiguos maestros y compañeros entre las caras amigables en su nueva escuela.</p><p>“Están muy emocionados ahora que descubrieron que muchos de sus amigos se cambiaron con ellos”, dijo la madre Tabitha Amaya. Sus hijos de primer y tercer grado todavía estaban acostumbrándose al edificio de su nueva escuela, pero además de elogiar el almuerzo y los recreos del día, estaban emocionados de tener una clase de ciencias este año. “Eso es lo más memorable”.</p><p>Amaya sigue teniendo una preocupación: cómo hará para llevar a sus hijos a la escuela los jueves. El distrito anunció que este año las clases empezarán dos horas después una vez por semana para permitir que los maestros tengan más tiempo para planear o recibir capacitación.</p><p>“Con ambos padres trabajando, eso es algo difícil”, Amaya dijo. Dijo que los líderes en la escuela Monaco se habían comunicado con ella para escuchar sus inquietudes, al parecer en busca de una solución, pensó, pero no la habían vuelto a llamar.</p><p>“Creo que veremos el jueves”, Amaya dijo.</p><p>Adams 14 tiene alrededor de 6,100 estudiantes y todavía enfrenta un futuro incierto. La reorganización podría significar cierres de escuelas o que distritos cercanos tomen control de las escuelas del distrito, pero el plan debe ser diseñado y aprobado por la comunidad, y los líderes nombrados para el comité de reorganización apoyan dejar que Adams 14 siga funcionando como lo hace en este momento.</p><p>Gran parte del trabajo sigue en pausa mientras el distrito <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/1/23621113/colorado-supreme-court-state-board-education-adams-14-appeal-school-accountability">espera una decisión de la Corte Suprema de Colorado</a> en la que afirma que el estado no tiene la habilidad de ordenar que un distrito escolar cierre. Mientras tanto, los líderes del distrito están contando con la nueva administración de la superintendenta Karla Loria para que impulse mejoras académicas que múltiples administraciones anteriores no lograron alcanzar.</p><p>Los líderes del distrito se negaron a una entrevista para hablar sobre el trabajo que se está invirtiendo en estos avances. Los padres dijeron que no saben qué cambios vayan a suceder, pero tienen la esperanza de que sea un buen año escolar.</p><p>Angelica Munoz dijo que se acaba de mudar a Commerce City y no sabe sobre ningún cambio en el distrito, pero que su cuñada le dijo que Monaco era una “escuela maravillosa”.</p><p>A su hija le encantó su primer día de kindergarten.</p><p>“No puede esperar para regresar mañana”, Munoz dijo. “Dijo que estuvieron leyendo mucho. Creo que eso es bueno”.</p><p>Carlos Cabrera tiene un hijo de 14 años con necesidades especiales que está empezando esté año en Adams City High School.</p><p>Cabrera dijo que a su hijo le preocupaba ir a una escuela más grande, con estudiantes mayores y con más interacciones sociales, y él estaba preocupado porque su hijo no se comunica mucho.</p><p>Pero después de la escuela, Cabrera dijo que parece que le fue bien.</p><p>“Dijo que le gustan sus maestros”, dijo. “Parece que estuvo bien”.</p><p>Cabrera dijo que en la mañana entró a la escuela con su hijo, pero no obtuvo mucha información. La escuela dijo que le darían información sobre las academias más adelante.</p><p>Jason Malmberg, el presidente del sindicato de maestros del distrito, dijo que lo que más les emociona a él y a otros maestros es el trabajo continuo del distrito para implementar el modelo de escuelas comunitarias.</p><p>El modelo, el cual busca llevar recursos comunitarios a las escuelas, como despensas de alimentos, clases para padres o cuidados después del horario escolar, para abordar factores externos que afectan el aprendizaje, <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/7/23499212/adams-14-school-improvement-plan-adams-city-high-school-community-schools">se está lanzando primero en la escuela Primaria Central</a>, una de las escuelas con el peor desempeño en el distrito. Malmberg dijo que este verano él y otros líderes solicitaron fondos a través de un subsidio para tratar de pagar por el trabajo de implementar el modelo en todo el distrito.</p><p>“Existe un modelo que hace como que la raza y la clase y la pobreza no tienen un impacto en la educación”, Malmberg dijo. “Estamos tratando de usar un modelo diferente, un modelo que eleve la voz de la comunidad, que responda a las necesidades de esa comunidad”.</p><p>Malmberg, junto con líderes del distrito y de la comunidad, cree que los resultados estatales de desempeño ignoran el impacto que la alta concentración de pobreza y otros desafíos sociales y medioambientales tienen en la habilidad de los estudiantes en Adams 14 de poder aprender o demostrar su aprendizaje en una prueba estandarizada. Están interesados en que el distrito escolar aborde primero esos desafíos y creen que, con el tiempo, eso puede resultar en mejoras académicas.</p><p>“Realmente sentimos que esta es la respuesta: invertir en la comunidad. Pero no es un arreglo rápido”.</p><p><i>Yesenia Robles es una reportera para Chalkbeat Colorado, cubriendo distritos escolares de kindergarten a 12º grado y la educación multilingüe. Comunícate con Yesenia por correo electrónico a yrobles@chalkbeat.org.</i></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/8/10/23827636/estudiantes-y-padres-sienten-emocion-y-esperanza-por-el-nuevo-ano-escolar-en-adams-14/Yesenia Robles2021-02-24T21:13:09+00:002023-12-22T21:11:40+00:00<p>Determinar cómo medir el desempeño de una escuela cuando no hay datos de exámenes significa que hay que enfocarse en la labor de los educadores.</p><p>En una <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/co/cde/Board.nsf/files/BXUHXK4AA33F/$file/Feb.%25202021%2520Progress%2520Monitoring%2520Update_Final%2520(002).pdf">actualización requerida por la Junta Estatal de Educación el miércoles</a>, el personal del Departamento de Educación de Colorado se enfocó en ese esfuerzo — y no en el desempeño de los estudiantes — mientras buscaban maneras nuevas para entender el verdadero impacto de la pandemia en los estudiantes de las escuelas con el desempeño más deficiente.</p><p>Monitorear el progreso en estas 12 escuelas y dos distritos según los planes de mejora del estado es el mayor dilema que enfrentan los funcionarios de educación de todo el estado y el país mientras tratan de evaluar el progreso y aprendizaje estudiantil sin contar con puntuaciones de exámenes estandarizados estatales. Eso significa que la mayor fuente de información son los exámenes internos de cada distrito. Colorado optó por no administrar exámenes estandarizados el año pasado, y no ha quedado claro si los van a usar esta primavera.</p><p><aside id="eRoWL5" class="sidebar float-right"><p id="emRRdb"><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/2/11/22279373/colorado-progress-monitoring-low-performing-schools-on-the-clock">Read in English: Colorado relies on district tests and hard work as it monitors progress of low-performing schools</a></p><p id="TLwDps"></p></aside></p><p>Sin información más definida, los funcionarios del estado destacaron durante la actualización del miércoles que los líderes de las escuelas y distritos se han esforzado muchísimo. Ellos hablaron de administradores que visitaron casas, maestros que pusieron una alfombra roja para los estudiantes que estaban regresando a la escuela, y de un equipo de <i>softball</i> que perseveró después de que ladrones hurtaron el equipo de la escuela.</p><p>Los funcionarios estatales dijeron que se enfocaron en lo que las escuelas están haciendo, que incluye si todavía estaban cumpliendo los planes de mejora.</p><p>“Esos sistemas y estructuras, y las estrategias que estaban usando para mejorar, eso es lo que están haciendo. Ellos siguen haciendo esas cosas,” dijo Lindsey Jaeckel, directora ejecutiva de escuelas y transformación del distrito del Departamento de Educación de Colorado. “Lo que está por verse es cómo eso se traducirá en logros de los estudiantes y otros indicadores similares.”</p><p>El personal del distrito Adams 14, el único del estado que está completamente bajo administración externa, también presentó su actualización el miércoles a la Junta Estatal. <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/co/cde/Board.nsf/files/BY4P8K635D0A/$file/2021-02-10-SBOE%2520Presentation-Updated.pdf">Ellos mostraron algo de información de exámenes internos del distrito</a>, mayormente administrados mientras los estudiantes aprendían desde los hogares. Y aunque hay mejoras en algunas áreas, los funcionarios del distrito notaron que no han podido lograr sus propias metas internas para mejorar el desempeño académico.</p><p>Por ejemplo, la directora de asuntos académicos del distrito Shelagh Burke dijo que Adams 14 ha reducido la cantidad de estudiantes con dificultad para leer (planes READ) un 19%, casi logrando la meta de 25% que el distrito había establecido.</p><p>Los funcionarios de Adams 14 y MGT Consulting, la compañía de administración con fines de lucro que está operando el distrito, enfatizaron que la pandemia no ha detenido ni desviado el plan de mejoras.</p><p>La junta escolar ya terminó la nueva visión y misión de Adams 14 y estuvo de acuerdo con cuatro metas mayores para guiar el trabajo futuro del distrito.</p><p>Este mes la junta también empezó a buscar una compañía que les ayude a contratar un superintendente para este verano. Adams 14 no ha tenido su propio superintendente por casi dos años, durante los cuales MGT llenó la vacante con Don Rangel, quien fue superintendente en el Condado de Weld.</p><p>“Realmente nos estamos esforzado mucho para vernos, expresarnos, y sentirnos como una colaboración”, Rangel le dijo a la Junta de Educación Estatal. “Sabemos que en el futuro, a medida que MGT empiece a desligarse un poco, el distrito irá asumiendo más y más responsabilidad hasta asumirla por completo. Y verdaderamente creo que van a estar en posición para continuar adelante con eso”.</p><p>El distrito Adams 14 lleva nueve años bajo supervisión del estado. La orden actual del estado le da a MGT otros dos años para ayudar a cambiar la dirección del distrito. Aunque la propia junta escolar del distrito había mencionado la posibilidad de pedir más tiempo para mejorar tomando en cuenta las interrupciones por COVID-19, de ese asunto no se habló el miércoles.</p><p>Durante la reunión sobre el progreso, los miembros de la junta específicamente citaron preocupaciones sobre las tasas de graduación y asistencia, preguntándose cómo comparaban con otros años.</p><p>“Me inquieta la nueva definición de asistencia,” dijo Angelika Schroeder, presidenta de la junta. “Si estás aprendiendo a remoto, con encender la computadora ya estás ahí. Eso no es un dato que importe mucho para nosotros en este momento”.</p><p>Jaeckel admitió que la manera en que las escuelas y distritos miden la asistencia y la participación varía mucho. Pero también dijo que este grupo de escuelas está verdaderamente llevando cuenta de la participación.</p><p>“No creo haber visto nada que nos diga si los niños están encaminados en términos del aprendizaje,” dijo Schroeder. “En términos de los resultados para nuestros niños, esto no es un cuadro alentador. Debemos darles reconocimiento y mucho respeto a todos los educadores por verdaderamente tratar de hacer el trabajo que prometieron y dijeron que iba a marcar una gran diferencia”.</p><p>Pero eso no significa que sepamos si va a ser de beneficio para los estudiantes, dijo ella.</p><p>Los funcionarios estatales señalaron que Aguilar, otro distrito bajo supervisión del estado, y por lo menos otra escuela, Minnequa Elementary en Pueblo, tienen datos internos que parecen mostrar que este último año hubo mejoras académicas. Sin embargo, en ambos casos los funcionarios estatales dieron que los estudiantes han tenido más acceso a enseñanza en persona que los estudiantes de otras áreas.</p><p>De todos modos, “ellos se sienten optimistas, y nosotros también”, dijo Jaeckel.</p><p><i>Milly Suazo ha traducido este reportaje.</i></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2021/2/24/22299798/como-colorado-mide-el-progreso-de-las-escuelas-de-poco-desempeno/Yesenia Robles2022-03-29T16:09:11+00:002023-12-22T21:07:56+00:00<p><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/3/24/22995298/adams-14-parents-react-school-closure-recommendation"><i>Read in English.</i></a></p><p>La primera noche después de enterarse de que las 14 escuelas de Adams están en riesgo de cerrar, Cristina Ruiz (madre de dos niños y cuyo hijo mayor empezará la secundaria en otoño) dio vueltas en la cama toda la noche.</p><p>¿A qué escuela van a ir sus hijos? ¿Cómo van a inscribirse en otros distritos sin una dirección local? ¿Qué tanto se van a llenar esas escuelas? ¿Va a poder manejar hasta allá?</p><p>Muchas de estas mismas preocupaciones son las que están pesando sobre los padres, estudiantes y miembros de la comunidad a medida que la Junta Estatal de Educación está a punto de tener una vista pública en abril para decidir el destino del distrito, que ha batallado durante años con inestabilidad y puntuaciones deficientes en los exámenes de aptitud.</p><p>Un panel externo de <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/3/15/22980047/adams-14-recommendation-state-review-panel-close-high-school-reorganization">expertos recomendó cerrar como mínimo la escuela secundaria principal del distrito</a> y reorganizar el distrito, posiblemente cerrando otras escuelas. Los líderes del distrito quieren, en cambio, crear escuelas en la comunidad con amplios servicios de apoyo para involucrar a las familias y hacerle frente a la pobreza.</p><p>La Junta Estatal considerará ambas recomendaciones, y también las ideas del público y del personal del departamento de educación, antes de tomar una decisión en una vista pública que se celebrará en abril.</p><p>Muchos padres y estudiantes se sienten excluidos del proceso del estado y confundidos por la recomendación, que consideran una medida drástica que desplazará a los estudiantes.</p><p>“Cerrar las escuelas no es una solución”, dijo Ruiz. “En lugar de ayudarnos, nos están perjudicando.”</p><p>Los estudiantes y padres que han tenido tanto buenas como malas experiencias en el distrito quieren que el estado les dé otra oportunidad a sus escuelas.</p><p>JoJo López, de 19 años y estudiante de último año de la Adams City High School, teme que la mayoría de los estudiantes han perdido la esperanza y piensan que los líderes estatales ya tomaron su decisión.</p><p>López, que camina a la escuela cada mañana - “solamente unos buenos 30 minutos” - dijo que le preocupa cómo los estudiantes como ella van a llegar a una escuela fuera de su comunidad. Muchas familias no tienen auto o no conducen, dijo ella.</p><p>Pero sí cree que la escuela secundaria necesita cambiar. López fue diagnosticada con ansiedad y síndrome de <i>Tourette</i> y ha estado esperando una evaluación para recibir servicios especializados pero la escuela ha estado ocupada, dijo. Y cuando pide ayuda extra a los maestros, ellos dicen que no porque ella no tiene un plan de necesidades especiales, dijo.</p><p>“Siento que necesito más tiempo y ayuda individual de los maestros. Para mí es muy difícil aprender como lo hacen los demás”, dijo López. “En mi caso, si tomo notas mi cerebro se desconcierta por completo.”</p><p><aside id="6h6BFd" class="sidebar float-right"><p id="gTK2NT">Si tienes un comentario para la Junta Estatal de Educación, estos son los medios para enviarlo:</p><ul><li id="3yD5c9">Completando una breve <a href="https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeboard">encuesta en línea</a></li><li id="1mFHPD">Enviando un email a <a href="mailto:state.board@cde.state.co.us">state.board@cde.state.co.us</a></li><li id="fhGeJe">Enviando tu mensaje por escrito a la Oficina de la Junta Estatal de Educación: State Board Office, 201 E. Colfax, Room 500, Denver, CO 80203</li></ul><p id="gukhbg">La fecha límite para enviar comentarios sobre Adams 14 y la primaria Central Elementary es el 8 de abril a las 5:00 p.m.</p><p id="QbecU9"></p></aside></p><p>Cuando empieza a preocuparse por aprobar una clase y acude a los consejeros académicos, ellos también están siempre ocupados, dijo. Aun así, cree que está en camino de graduarse en mayo.</p><p>Para otros estudiantes, cree que los problemas giran en torno a la seguridad. Hace unos años, su hermana mayor abandonó la escuela tras meterse en problemas cuando tuvo que defenderse en una pelea. Otros amigos que conoce han abandonado la escuela secundaria más recientemente por preocupaciones similares con las peleas.</p><p>“Quiero que los estudiantes que son menores que yo puedan graduarse y obtener una mejor educación”, dijo López. “Tienen que sentirse suficientemente protegidos.”</p><h2>Otros factores afectan al aprendizaje de los estudiantes</h2><p>Algunos padres y muchos maestros creen que le está echando demasiada culpa al distrito, y que otros factores como pobreza, traumas y los distintos niveles de participación de los padres también afectan la capacidad de aprendizaje de los estudiantes.</p><p>Entre los distritos escolares de Colorado, Adams 14 tiene el mayor porcentaje de estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés y el segundo mayor porcentaje de estudiantes de color, y ocupa la posición 15 en cuanto al porcentaje de estudiantes con derecho a comidas subvencionadas (cifra que se usa para medir pobreza).</p><p>La comunidad y el distrito han criticado al estado por depender demasiado en los resultados de los exámenes estatales para medir la calidad educativa del distrito. Pero otras medidas también pintan un panorama sombrío.</p><p>El año pasado, el distrito tuvo un porcentaje de abandono escolar de un 6%, el sexto más alto del estado. El distrito también tiene un alto número de padres que han matriculado a sus hijos fuera del distrito, y muchos dicen que no tienen planes de regresar a Adams 14, pase lo que pase.</p><p><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2019/2/5/21106771/17-studies-that-tell-us-something-about-how-school-closures-affect-students">Algunos estudios</a> han encontrado que <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2019/2/5/21106706/five-things-we-ve-learned-from-a-decade-of-research-on-school-closures">los cierres de escuelas tienen un historial mixto</a> y muchas desventajas. Los estudiantes desplazados que se trasladaron a otra escuela de bajo rendimiento no mejoraron sus resultados académicos, y las escuelas que aceptaron un gran número de estudiantes desplazados tuvieron más dificultades. Los estudiantes informaron que sus amistades y autoestima se vieron afectadas. Se graduaron menos estudiantes, y más abandonaron sus estudios por completo.</p><p>Muchos en la comunidad de Adams 14 defienden a sus escuelas.</p><p>En una reciente reunión del consejo de la ciudad, varias personas hablaron públicamente para destacar las historias de los graduados de Adams 14 que han ido a la universidad y han comenzado carreras exitosas.</p><p>Las oportunidades están ahí, dijo una madre al consejo, “si los niños las aprovechan.”</p><p>Elizabeth Rivas tiene un niño de preescolar y otro de primer grado en el distrito, y cree que están aprendiendo. Se pregunta la causa de los comentarios negativos, ya que no corresponden con lo que ella ha experimentado.</p><p>“No lo veo”, dijo Rivas. “Mi hija es brillante. Sé que está aprendiendo porque puede hacer los deberes sola. Otra forma de saberlo es porque le encanta la escuela.”</p><p>Rivas dijo que si el estado quiere ayudar al distrito, debería ayudar a las escuelas a tener más programas de doble idioma.</p><p>“Quiero que mi hija aprenda los dos idiomas”, dijo Rivas. “El estado no debería negarles a los niños de Commerce City la oportunidad de tomar todas sus clases en dos idiomas. Es algo muy beneficioso para ellos y puede abrir muchas oportunidades.”</p><p>Adams 14 está empezando a lanzar <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2020/10/15/21517819/adams-14-district-approved-plan-english-learners">un nuevo plan que incluye</a> programación en dos idiomas en algunas escuelas y grados. El programa que más le interesa a Rivas solamente se ofrece hasta ahora en una escuela de Adams 14. Los estudiantes cuyo primer idioma es el inglés y los estudiantes cuyo primer idioma es español reciben la mitad de sus clases académicas en inglés y la otra mitad en español para que todos pueden beneficiarse de ser bilingües. Es un modelo que los padres llevan tiempo pidiendo en Adams 14 y que no existe en la mayoría de los distritos.</p><p>El mismo distrito Adams 14 ha luchado en el pasado para seguir desarrollando un programa bilingüe K-12 completo.</p><p>Rivas cree que es un área en la que el estado podría aportar más recursos — ya sea en dinero o con personal, dijo.</p><p>Ella y otros padres también están entusiasmados con los planes del distrito de crear una escuela en la comunidad que incluya servicios como una clínica de salud, una despensa de alimentos o educación para adultos, dependiendo de las necesidades de las familias. Los padres quieren que el distrito tenga tiempo para probar esa idea.</p><p>“Ahora estamos unidos”, dijo Rivas. “Creo que ahora hay tanto apoyo, que el distrito puede tener éxito.”</p><h2>La rotación del liderazgo ha sido un reto</h2><p>Bill y Lorraine Maddock llevan casi 50 años viviendo en la comunidad y siguen participando en organizar a los padres. La pareja afirma que después de haber visto a muchos líderes hacer promesas y luego marcharse, el liderazgo actual inspira confianza.</p><p>En el año desde que empezó, la Superintendente Karla Loria se ha reunido con el grupo de padres de los Maddock más veces de las que pudieron reunirse con MGT, la empresa privada que administró el distrito durante unos dos años.</p><p>“Tuvimos muchos problemas para que GMT nos contestara preguntas, pero nuestra superintendente de ahora se reúne con nosotros bastante a menudo y nos cuenta lo que está pasando”, dijo Lorraine Maddock. “Ella nos ayuda con lo que queremos ver en nuestra comunidad. La mayoría de las veces somos nosotros los que le decimos lo que queremos ver. Y ella nos escucha.”</p><p>April Saucedo, de 20 años y graduada de Adams City en 2019, participó en un <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2017/4/25/21099849/commerce-city-students-march-to-district-building-asking-for-a-voice-in-their-struggling-school-s-fu">paro estudiantil la última vez que la escuela fue amenazada</a> con un cierre. Ella recuerda que se sintió menospreciada por la administración, y no quiere que su hermano menor (que va a empezar la escuela secundaria en otoño) sienta lo mismo.</p><p>Ella dijo que tiene la esperanza de que los funcionarios del distrito y del estado escuchen a la comunidad.</p><p>“Quiero que los niños sepan que son importantes y se van a cuidar”, dijo Saucedo. “No quiero que piensen que no se merecen dedicarles tiempo.”</p><p><i>Yesenia Robles es una reportera de Chalkbeat Colorado que cubre los distritos escolares K-12 y la educación multilingüe. Para comunicarte con Yesenia, envíale un mensaje a </i><a href="mailto:yrobles@chalkbeat.org"><i>yrobles@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2022/3/29/23001504/los-padres-de-adams-14-quieren-que-el-estado-les-de-otra-oportunidad-a-sus-escuelas-locales/Yesenia Robles2023-12-21T18:31:43+00:002023-12-21T18:34:37+00:00<p><i>Sign up for </i><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><i>Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free daily newsletter</i></a><i> to keep up with Memphis-Shelby County Schools and statewide education policy.</i></p><p>The typical Tennessee school received a high C under a new formula the state used to assign its first-ever letter grades to schools, according to data released Thursday.</p><p>The long-delayed letter grades from the Tennessee Department of Education satisfy the requirements of a 2016 school accountability law, which has been <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/12/18/a-f-school-letter-grades-faq-qa-preview-tennessee/">embraced by Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds</a> as a simple, familiar way for families to assess local schools.</p><p>But just before the first grades were issued, Reynolds led a revamp of the grading formula to emphasize academic achievement, or proficiency, over academic growth. The earlier formula, which was never used to publicly assign grades, was more focused on growth.</p><p><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/12/18/a-f-school-letter-grades-faq-qa-preview-tennessee/">Related: A-F grades come out this week for Tennessee schools. Here’s what to know.</a></p><p>The late change <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/10/26/23929492/school-ratings-a-f-letter-grades-changes/">angered many educators</a> across the state. Schools serving lower-income families in rural and urban communities have been particularly concerned about the prospect of earning lower marks under the new formula.</p><p>Schools that receive D’s or F’s do not receive any additional support from the state, but they are expected to face more scrutiny.</p><p>Among Tennessee’s 1,690 schools that received letter grades, 3 out of every 4 received a C or better. A Chalkbeat analysis showed that <a href="https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/accountability/2022-23_School_Letter_Grade_Protocol_and_Appeals_Guide.pdf">the median grade-eligible Tennessee school earned a 3.2 out of a possible 5 points</a>, or toward the higher end of the C range.</p><p>For now, there is no way to directly compare this year’s letter grades with what they would have been under the old formula. The education department has not yet published the state testing data it used to calculate its letter grades.</p><p>An analysis from Memphis-Shelby County Schools, the state’s largest district, showed that sticking to the original formula “would have been more favorable,” said Bill White, the district’s director of planning and accountability. He said the district’s analysis also showed that low letter grades matched up to schools with higher proportions of low-income students.</p><p>“Many of our students face significant challenges outside of the classroom …,” said MSCS interim Superintendent Toni Williams. “So we need a more comprehensive assessment system that recognizes student growth, family engagement, and the unique context of each school and its students.”</p><p>The <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/10/26/23929492/school-ratings-a-f-letter-grades-changes/">education department stood by its new formula</a> when announcing the letter grades Thursday. Reynolds called it a “clear rating system” that gives families “a snapshot of how their child’s school is performing.”</p><p>Student academic growth is still a component of the new formula, but it is measured differently now. In the new calculation, Tennessee removed the option for schools to increase their grade by meeting individualized academic benchmarks, rather than the statewide targets.</p><p>Only 5% of Tennessee’s graded schools received F’s. Half of these schools are located in Memphis, a Chalkbeat analysis found. Most are within Memphis-Shelby County Schools, and six are charter schools operated under agreements with the state-run Achievement School District or the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.</p><p>MSCS accounted for the largest share of F’s among districts with at least 50 schools, but the most common grade for district schools was a C, according to Chalkbeat’s analysis.</p><p>Metro Nashville Public Schools received mostly B’s, C’s, and D’s.</p><p>School letter grades are published on Tennessee’s <a href="https://www.tn.gov/education/families/report-card.html">State Report Card</a> website. The dashboard offers additional information about how each school scored across the three or four categories that contribute to the overall grades.</p><p>Some schools were not graded because they lacked sufficient test data or served only adults.</p><p>You can search for grades by school in the table below.</p><p><i>Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Laura at </i><a href="mailto:LTestino@chalkbeat.org"><i>LTestino@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p><p><i>Kae Petrin is data and graphics reporter for Chalkbeat. Contact Kae at </i><a href="mailto:kpetrin@chalkbeat.org"><i>kpetrin@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/12/21/tennessee-issues-first-a-f-letter-grades-for-schools-under-new-formula/Laura Testino, Kae PetrinAndrea Morales2023-12-18T11:00:00+00:002023-12-18T13:47:05+00:00<p><i>Sign up for </i><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><i>Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free daily newsletter</i></a><i> to keep up with statewide education policy and Memphis-Shelby County Schools.</i></p><p>This week, for the first time under a 2016 law, Tennessee will give each of its public schools an A-F letter grade.</p><p>The goal, says Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds, is to help families, educators, communities, and policymakers understand how their local schools are doing.</p><p>And what better way, she says, than by using a letter-grade system that families are familiar with from their student’s report cards.</p><p>But the policy has been controversial since lawmakers began <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2015/4/7/21101676/legislature-debates-whether-grading-schools-boosts-transparency-or-stigmatizes-poorly-resourced-scho/#.VthmZpMrLGI">debating its merits</a> nearly a decade ago, and local school leaders worry the grades will actually create confusion for parents and harm school communities.</p><p>They say a single grade is more simplistic than simple, and can’t fully capture the quality of learning and support that’s happening in a school, especially for communities where students face extra challenges before even walking into the classroom.</p><p>Local concerns escalated when the state education department recently <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/11/2/23944324/a-f-school-letter-grades-delayed-with-new-formula-lizzette-reynolds/">revamped its grading formula</a> in a way that will make it harder for certain schools to get an A or a B.</p><p><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/10/26/23929492/school-ratings-a-f-letter-grades-changes/">Related: Tennessee rushes to revamp its A-F letter grades for schools. Educators cry foul.</a></p><p>Here’s what you should know about the upcoming school letter grades, which the state is scheduled to release on Thursday.</p><h2>What exactly will the grades measure?</h2><p>As required by <a href="https://advance.lexis.com/documentpage/?pdmfid=1000516&crid=9e581583-b148-481b-8fdb-23fbda08270e&nodeid=ABXAABAACABC&nodepath=%2fROOT%2fABX%2fABXAAB%2fABXAABAAC%2fABXAABAACABC&level=4&haschildren=&populated=false&title=49-1-228.+School+grading+system+%E2%80%94+State+report+card+%E2%80%94+Implementation+%E2%80%94+Notice.&config=025054JABlOTJjNmIyNi0wYjI0LTRjZGEtYWE5ZC0zNGFhOWNhMjFlNDgKAFBvZENhdGFsb2cDFQ14bX2GfyBTaI9WcPX5&pddocfullpath=%2fshared%2fdocument%2fstatutes-legislation%2furn%3acontentItem%3a5JVC-W5F0-R03N-03SY-00008-00&ecomp=7gf5kkk&prid=df2607e3-9a8f-49f5-a945-fab91492ab50">state law,</a> the grades must take into account student performance and improvement, as demonstrated on annual tests under the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, also known as TCAP. High schools will also be judged on their students’ college and career readiness, based on measures such as ACT scores, postsecondary credits, or industry credentials.</p><h2>How will the grades be calculated?</h2><p>The formula weights student proficiency the heaviest, according to the department’s <a href="https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/school-letter-grades/A-F%20Letter%20Grade%20Calculation_SBE%20Presentation%20November%202023.pdf">recent presentation</a> to the State Board of Education. Next comes growth, or how much a school’s students improved from one year to the next. A separate factor seeks to assess how well schools are helping their lowest-performing quartile of students to improve.</p><p><br/></p><p>The formula factors in test scores for English language arts, math, and science for elementary schools, and for all four core subject areas for middle and high schools. But some subjects count more than others.</p><p>The state has not publicly released the thresholds for what constitutes an A, B, and so on, based on its tallies of all the data.</p><h2>Will the grades matter?</h2><p>Yes, and not just in terms of public perception of a school’s quality. Under Tennessee’s <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2022/5/2/23054374/tisa-bep-school-funding-law-tennessee-governor/">new funding formula</a> for K-12 education, school districts or charter authorizers can face hearings before the state Board of Education if their schools are rated D or F, beginning with the 2024-25 school year.</p><p>Ultimately, administrators could be forced to submit a corrective action plan or undergo a state audit of spending and academic programming at the school.</p><p>School ratings also can affect the price of real estate in a school’s neighborhood, as well as teacher and student morale. <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/1/24/22899133/great-schools-ratings-bias-economists-research/">Studies have shown</a> that ratings such as those given by third-party websites frequently are biased and can steer families toward schools serving more affluent, white, and Asian students.</p><h2>Why is Tennessee grading its schools?</h2><p>Legislators who voted for the law said A-F school grades would provide a common-sense aid to parents trying to navigate an increasingly complex school choice system.</p><p>Big supporters included ExcelinEd, an advocacy group founded by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, plus other groups that favor giving taxpayer-funded vouchers to families to send their children to private schools. (Gov. Bill Lee recently proposed a <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/11/29/bill-lee-proposes-statewide-school-voucher-scholarship-expansion-bill-lee/">statewide expansion of Tennessee’s voucher program</a>, which operates in three counties and has fewer than 2,000 enrollees. The state is not grading private schools that receive vouchers.)</p><p>School letter-grading policies were also promoted by the American Legislative Exchange Council, also known as ALEC. Its members are mostly conservative state lawmakers, and its funding comes from foundations, trade groups, and some corporations, according to <a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/07/25/alecs-funding-revealed/">research</a> from the Center for Media and Democracy.</p><h2>The law passed in 2016. Why are schools just now receiving their first grades?</h2><p>The initial grades were to come out in 2018 but got delayed repeatedly, mostly because <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2018/5/14/21105050/it-s-official-results-from-tennessee-s-ugly-testing-year-won-t-count-for-much-of-anything/">technical glitches</a> and the <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/3/20/21196085/all-states-can-cancel-standardized-tests-this-year-trump-and-devos-say/">pandemic</a> disrupted state testing.</p><p>This year, <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/7/24/23803579/tennessee-education-commissioner-lizzette-gonzalez-reynolds-bill-lee-excelined-school-vouchers-esa/">soon after assuming her new job as Tennessee’s education chief</a>, Reynolds prioritized the rollout of A-F grades and launched a process to revise the grading formula, which will use results from tests that already have been administered. The goal of the overhaul, she said, was to generate grades that signify meaningful differences in school performance in a way that makes sense to Tennesseans.</p><h2>How did the formula change, and what effects will the revisions have on the final grades?</h2><p>Previously, Tennessee’s grading formula skewed toward growth, which refers to the progress or improvement that schools made toward helping their students meet certain academic standards over the course of a year.</p><p>The new formula puts greater emphasis on achievement, or proficiency. Achievement is basically a snapshot of how much students in a school know, and whether enough of them are meeting grade-level standards on their state tests.</p><p>The changes will likely mean fewer A’s and generally worse grades than previously expected for many schools, especially those serving students from lower-income families in rural and urban communities.</p><p>More broadly, the shift marks a change of course for Tennessee, which was an early adopter of using growth data to evaluate how its students, teachers, and schools are doing. Educators have mostly embraced this model as ultimately the best way to gauge the quality of learning in their classrooms and schools.</p><h2>Do other states issue A-F letter grades for schools?</h2><p>As of late 2021, 11 states had such grading measures in their accountability systems, according to the <a href="https://reports.ecs.org/comparisons/states-school-accountability-systems-2021-01">most recent data</a> from the Education Commission of the States.</p><p>But several states, including Georgia, <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/indiana/2023/9/26/23890028/indiana-letter-grades-report-card-attendance-test-ilearn-iread-pass-rate/">Indiana</a>, Michigan, and Utah, have since <a href="https://www.k12dive.com/news/states-letter-grading-report-cards/650862/">rolled back those policies</a>. And in Texas recently, a judge <a href="https://www.statesman.com/story/news/education/2023/10/26/judge-halts-texas-education-agency-from-releasing-a-f-school-ratings/71338396007/">blocked the state education agency from issuing grades</a> after several districts sued. The districts charged that the agency had unfairly recalibrated its formula and waited too long to communicate those changes.</p><h2>Where will Tennessee’s grades be published?</h2><p>As of last week, state officials had not shared exactly how they plan to release this week’s grades. Chalkbeat continues to track and report on the topic.</p><p>Eventually, the department plans to publish all grades, along with school-level TCAP scores from the 2022-23 school year, on the <a href="https://www.tn.gov/education/families/report-card.html">State Report Card</a>. The online tool should be ready to go live with the latest data in January, according to several spokespeople for the department.</p><p><i>Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at </i><a href="mailto:maldrich@chalkbeat.org"><i>maldrich@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/12/18/a-f-school-letter-grades-faq-qa-preview-tennessee/Marta W. AldrichJaker5000/Getty Images2023-11-08T19:00:00+00:002023-12-02T00:27:23+00:00<p><a href="https://chalkbeat.admin.usechorus.com/e/23705113"><i><b>Read in English.</b></i></a></p><p>Los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés quizás hayan enfrentado mayores obstáculos durante la pandemia y necesitan apoyo adicional, según dicen expertos y defensores en el campo de la educación.</p><p>Los <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/17/23835415/colorado-2023-cmas-results-show-slow-academic-recovery-red-flags-for-some-students">resultados de las pruebas estatales en 2023</a> muestran que los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés se encuentran más rezagados en comparación con otros grupos de estudiantes que sus pares en 2019, y están teniendo más dificultades para retomar el camino. Tuvieron la reducción más grande en sus habilidades en las principales pruebas estatales de artes del idioma inglés y matemáticas y también mostraron menor crecimiento que sus pares en 2019.</p><p>Los resultados de las pruebas no son la única señal de alarma. El 40 por ciento de los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés faltaron tanto a la escuela el año pasado que se los identificó como ausentes crónicos, comparado con solo un tercio de otros estudiantes de Colorado.</p><p>Se han establecido dos métodos notables para ayudar a los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés con su desempeño académico a raíz de COVID.</p><p>Un puñado de distritos escolares observaron a sus estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés avanzar más del promedio, o demostrar un mayor crecimiento que el resto de los estudiantes. Líderes en esos distritos dijeron que <a href="https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/co-teach/ell">priorizaron la enseñanza conjunta</a> en lugar de sacar a los estudiantes de clases generales para recibir enseñanza específica sobre el desarrollo del idioma inglés. Por lo menos un distrito usó fondos federales por COVID para proporcionarles servicios de tutoría a esos estudiantes.</p><p>Pero algunos otros distritos dicen que no han asignado recursos ni estrategias específicas para ayudar a los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés. De hecho, sin importar datos recientes y lo que los analistas del estado digan sobre el tema, niegan que la pandemia haya afectado desproporcionadamente a estos estudiantes. Dicen que la composición demográfica de los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés ha cambiado y ahora incluye a más estudiantes recién llegados al país.</p><p>“Hay distritos que no parecen estar muy preocupados con los estudiantes bilingües emergentes”, dijo Cynthia Trinidad-Sheahan, presidenta de la Asociación de Educación Bilingüe de Colorado.</p><p>Representantes del estado en el campo de la educación dicen que no pueden darles más dinero a los distritos para ayudarlos con los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés a menos que los legisladores autoricen más gastos o nuevos programas. “Eso lo deberá contestar la Asamblea General”, dijo Floyd Cobb, comisionado de la Asociación de Educación de Colorado, al preguntarle cómo la agencia espera cerrar la brecha entre los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés y estudiantes[AC1] que hablan inglés como primer idioma.</p><h2>La mayoría de los datos sobre calificaciones de pruebas muestran una tendencia negativa</h2><p>Cuando las escuelas implementaron la enseñanza virtual al principio de la pandemia, algunas <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/5/21/21265475/less-learning-late-guidance-school-districts-struggle-english-language-learners-during-covid-19">escuelas enfrentaron dificultades para ofrecer apoyo con el desarrollo del idioma inglés</a>. Los estudiantes no tenían un entorno para practicar su nuevo idioma, y en sus hogares muchas familias no podían apoyarlos con el aprendizaje virtual. Y cuando las escuelas regresaron a la enseñanza presencial, algunas familias de estudiantes que estaban aprendiendo inglés titubearon más que otras familias para enviar nuevamente a sus hijos de inmediato al salón de clases.</p><p>Las desigualdades en las calificaciones de las pruebas entre los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés y quienes hablan inglés como primer idioma no son nuevas. Una razón es que la gran mayoría de los estudiantes del inglés están tomando pruebas en inglés antes de entender totalmente el idioma. Una cantidad limitada de estudiantes puede tomar pruebas de artes del idioma en español, pero esos resultados también reflejan calificaciones mucho más bajas que los estudiantes en 2019, mientras que los que hablan inglés como primer idioma en los mismos niveles de grado casi ya se recuperaron.</p><p>Las calificaciones de este año en la prueba ACCESS, la cual evalúa la habilidad de los estudiantes para dominar el idioma inglés, muestran que una porción más pequeña de estudiantes lo dominan en 2023 comparado con 2019. Y hace cuatro años, el 9.4 por ciento de estudiantes de primer grado obtuvieron una calificación de nivel 1, el nivel más bajo. Pero en 2023, casi un cuarto de los estudiantes de primer grado obtuvieron el nivel más bajo.</p><p>Cuando el estado publicó las calificaciones de CMAS en agosto, los representantes estatales dijeron que la mayoría de los grupos de estudiantes históricamente desventajados había regresado a los niveles de crecimiento prepandemia, excepto los estudiantes multilingües en la materia de artes del idioma inglés. Dijeron que sin acelerar su aprendizaje, esos estudiantes “continuarán retrasándose aún más”.</p><p>“Creo que tenemos una cantidad creíble de evidencia para poder decir que nuestros estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés se vieron afectados por COVID—y afectados desproporcionadamente”, dijo Joyce Zurkowski, directora ejecutiva de evaluaciones en el Departamento de Educación de Colorado.</p><h2>Algunos distritos minimizan las tendencias negativas de los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés</h2><p>A pesar de lo que los datos significan para personas como Zurkwoski, los líderes de algunos distritos piensan que los datos de los estudiantes que estaban aprendiendo inglés en 2019 no son comparables con los datos de estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés en 2023 debido a recientes llegadas de inmigrantes de Afganistán, Ucrania y América del Sur, quienes han cambiado la composición demográfica de esos grupos.</p><p>Representantes del estado dicen que aunque eso ha afectado a muchos distritos, las cantidades de recién llegados no son suficientes como para explicar todas las reducciones en los datos de logros.</p><p>En Cherry Creek, líderes del distrito dicen que están monitoreando cuántos estudiantes están logrando dominar el inglés. En Colorado, para que un estudiante deje de ser identificado como estudiante del inglés, los maestros usan datos de las calificaciones de ACCESS y pruebas estatales. Pero también pueden usar sus propias observaciones y datos internos para probar que un estudiante ya no necesita ciertas clases y servicios en inglés.</p><p>Holly Porter, directora de apoyos para el idioma en Cherry Creek, dijo que usualmente alrededor del 85 por ciento de los estudiantes se consideran como competentes en el idioma inglés a tres años de haber ingresado al distrito, y el 95 por ciento alcanza esa designación en cinco años.</p><p>Aunque las cantidades más recientes todavía no están disponibles, Porter dijo que la tendencia se ha mantenido constante.</p><p>Porter también dijo que los estudiantes que dejan de recibir servicios para el inglés siguen desempeñándose bien en la escuela y muestran un crecimiento por arriba del promedio en pruebas estatales, lo cual confirma los avances.</p><p>“Encontramos que muchos estudiantes estaban rezagados, no solo los estudiantes multilingües”, dijo.</p><p>En el distrito escolar de Harrison en Colorado Springs, Rachel Laufer, asistente del superintendente de enseñanza y aprendizaje, dijo que los desafíos que surgen con estudiantes recién llegados es que “las escuelas están trabajando para apoyar no solo las necesidades del lenguaje y académicas de las familias, sino también los <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/29/23896406/denver-migrant-students-schools-families-lose-housing-teachers">otros obstáculos que existen para las familias</a> que acaban de llegar al país”. Las familias necesitan ayuda con el transporte, la vivienda y otras cosas para que los estudiantes puedan ir a la escuela a aprender, dijo.</p><p>Aunque no les preocupan los datos, los líderes del distrito de Harrison dijeron que han realizado algunos cambios en cómo ayudan a los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés y a los recién llegados en particular.</p><p>En los últimos años, el distrito ha intentado aumentar el personal para asegurar que haya por lo menos un maestro certificado para trabajar con estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés en cada escuela, en lugar de tener que dividir su tiempo en diferentes escuelas. El distrito también está probando lentamente la enseñanza conjunta.</p><p>Laufer dijo que Harrison priorizó que los estudiantes del inglés y con discapacidades regresaran al aprendizaje presencial. Pero cuando el distrito usó el aprendizaje híbrido y los padres pudieron decidir si enviar o no a sus hijos a la escuela, fue más probable que los estudiantes que estaban aprendiendo inglés se quedaran en casa.</p><p>“Fue una mayor preocupación para ellos”, Laufer dijo. “Creo que podrías conectar eso con algunos de los datos”.</p><h2>Aumentando el entusiasmo entre los maestros para ayudar a los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés</h2><p>Hay algunos distritos en Colorado donde algunos de los datos entre los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés son más positivos.</p><p>En Pueblo 60, por ejemplo, la calificación del crecimiento este año en la prueba de CMAS en artes del idioma de los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés ahora es más alta que para los estudiantes que hablan inglés como primer idioma. En el distrito escolar 3J del Condado de Weld, la calificación del crecimiento en matemáticas mejoró entre 2019 y 2023.</p><p>La mejora no es uniforme en los distritos. En 3J, por ejemplo, a pesar de mejoras significativas en el crecimiento de las pruebas de matemáticas de CMS, el crecimiento en la prueba de ACCESS disminuyó.</p><p>Mientras tanto, los estudiantes de Adams 14 mostraron un crecimiento significativo en las pruebas ACCESS para ver si dominan el inglés—el crecimiento más alto entre distritos grandes—pero no mostraron mejoras en otras pruebas estatales.</p><p>En Pueblo, los líderes del distrito dijeron que ya estaban trabajando para renovar la educación de los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés antes de la pandemia.</p><p>La <i>high school</i> abrió un centro para estudiantes recién llegados hace siete años. En los últimos cinco años, el distrito ha trabajado en su filosofía de enseñanza y en que la enseñanza concuerde con los estándares de contenido.</p><p>Tanto Pueblo como 3J también han trabajado para reducir la cantidad de tiempo que a los estudiantes los sacan del salón de clases para recibir enseñanza sobre el idioma inglés, una estrategia que también se está usando en otros distritos como Harrison y <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/6/23744408/boulder-school-district-english-language-learner-coteaching-changes">Boulder</a> donde los datos son menos positivos.</p><p>En escuelas primarias de Pueblo 60, la enseñanza donde se saca a los estudiantes del salón general ya no ocurre durante matemáticas ni lectura. En la escuela media, los maestros van a las clases de los estudiantes en lugar de sacarlos.</p><p>Ese fue un cambio que los maestros mismos sugirieron.</p><p>“Realmente estaban en sintonía con lo que sus estudiantes necesitaban así que aceptamos su sugerencia y dijimos: ‘bueno, intentemos eso y veamos si marca una diferencia’”, dijo Lisa Casarez, la especialista en adquisición del idioma inglés del distrito escolar de Pueblo. Ahora, en las escuelas de educación media, piensa que eso ha sucedido.</p><p>Los datos del estado muestran que los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés en las escuelas medias de Pueblo 60 obtuvieron calificaciones más altas de crecimiento en las pruebas de CMAS sobre las artes del idioma que los estudiantes en escuelas primarias y sus pares que ya dominan el inglés en escuelas de educación media.</p><p>Tanto en 3J como en Pueblo, líderes dijeron que han observado más entusiasmo entre todos los maestros para aprender cómo ayudar a los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés.</p><p>El departamento de educación del estado ahora obliga que todos los maestros reciban capacitación en Educación Cultural y Lingüísticamente Diversa cuando renuevan sus licencias. Eso significa que aprender cómo ayudar a esos estudiantes ya no es responsabilidad de unos pocos educadores con licencias especiales.</p><p>“Hemos observado mucho interés entre los maestros de educación general para apoyar a los estudiantes multilingües”, dijo Jenny Wakeman, asistente del superintendente en 3J. “Eso es algo que han hecho naturalmente”.</p><p>También ayudaron fondos adicionales. Wakeman dijo que su distrito usó algunos fondos federales por la pandemia para proporcionar intervenciones adicionales, incluida más tutoría, específicamente para estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés.</p><p>Mientras tanto, dijo que los maestros ahora están haciendo sus propios estudios de libros para aprender aún más sobre cómo ayudar a los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés. Ese es el tipo de actitud que Zurkowski con el departamento de educación de Colorado dice que se necesita para ayudar a esos estudiantes a ponerse a la par.</p><p>“Sabemos que esas brechas eran grandes antes de la pandemia, [y] son grandes después de la pandemia”, Zurkowski dijo. “Justifican esfuerzos intensivos de intervención”.</p><p><i>Yesenia Robles es una reportera para Chalkbeat Colorado, cubriendo distritos escolares de kindergarten a 12º grado y la educación multilingüe. Comunícate con Yesenia por correo electrónico a </i><a href="mailto:yrobles@chalkbeat.org"><i>yrobles@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p><p><br/></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/11/8/23950108/estudiantes-aprendiendo-ingles-sufrieron-retrasos-academicos-durante-covid/Yesenia Robles2023-11-20T11:23:00+00:002023-11-20T15:07:01+00:00<p><i>Sign up for </i><a href="https://newark.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><i>Chalkbeat Newark’s free newsletter</i></a><i> to keep up with the city’s public school system.</i></p><p>Newark Public School officials have created a plan aimed at boosting student achievement after spring state test scores showed difficulties in writing and English language arts.</p><p>The director of the district’s English language arts department, Jazleen Othman, spelled out three problems with the district’s instruction at a recent Board committee meeting: ineffective reading instruction during the pandemic, simplifying the curriculum, and inadequate writing instruction.</p><p>Othman told the board that her department hopes to combat these problems through several tactics, such as introducing new approaches to teaching phonics, implementing explicit writing strategies, and supporting teachers’ knowledge of an evidence-based reading approach known as the science of reading.</p><p>The targeted plan comes just weeks after the results of this spring’s state test scores showed Newark students continue to need academic support to recover from the pandemic. For the second year in a row, most Newark students performed worse than pre-pandemic levels in reading. In grades 3 to 9, an average of 29% of Newark students passed the English language arts portion of the exam, compared to 36% in 2019 before the pandemic.</p><p>Some grades fared worse – only 19% of the district’s third-graders passed ELA, the lowest of any grade in Newark for a <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/newark/2023/10/3/23900676/newark-public-schools-state-test-scores-math-reading-pandemic-literacy/">second year in a row.</a> Seventh and eighth graders had the highest English language arts scores, each at about 37%, which increased this year by about 4 and 5 percentage points respectively.</p><p>Public school leaders are attributing reading issues in early grades to the switch to remote learning during the pandemic, which they say has hindered students’ reading progress and caused disfluent readers.</p><p>District officials also said they designed a new ELA curriculum for grades K-8 currently used in classrooms this year. Newark Public Schools has released limited details about the new curriculum to Chalkbeat Newark through a public records request.</p><h2>District to focus on new reading and writing strategies</h2><p>The district’s work to improve student’s skills began over the summer when <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/newark/2023/8/3/23817714/newark-nj-summer-school-tutoring-academic-recovery-reading-literacy-math/">roughly 10,000 public school students </a>with low attendance, grades, and state test scores were required to attend summer school to target problem areas in math and reading, like sounding out words, handwriting, and reading comprehension, among others.</p><p>Students are struggling with alphabetic knowledge, the basic ability to recognize letters and their sounds, Deering said.</p><p>But Othman laid out even more specifics last month to the school board.</p><p>The district’s Office of English Language Arts is adopting a structured approach to teaching phonics by implementing SIPPS, also known as Systematic Instruction in Phonological Awareness, Phonics, and Sight Words. Through this research-based approach, students are guided through the reading development process, and new and struggling readers learn through explicit routines focused on word sounds and spelling, and high-frequency words, or words that appear most often in writing.</p><p>The district is also implementing Wilson Fundations, a curriculum rooted in the science of reading that builds the foundations for reading, spelling, and handwriting. That work is supplemented through the Geodes Classroom Libraries, a collection of books that help new and developing readers, and builds on skills from the Wilson Fundations curriculum.</p><p>Deering said this isn’t the first time the district has used elements of the science of reading. It has adopted components of the approach since 1998 that focus on students learning the basics of reading and writing by decoding words and sounding out letters.</p><p>During the presentation to board members, Othman said that as soon as children learn to decode words, they should be provided with grade-level reading and writing opportunities and discuss grade-level work to promote critical thinking.</p><p>After finding problems with their writing instruction, the district recruited The Writing Revolution, an organization that helps school districts implement its explicit writing strategy known as the Hochman Method. According to the organization, the approach is not a separate writing curriculum, but rather a set of strategies embedded in student learning.</p><h2>Preparing teachers in the foundations of reading instruction</h2><p>Othman and her office found that the district’s ELA curriculum is simplified, she told the board, resulting in limited learning on grade-level content and critical thinking. Teachers, vice principals, department chairs, and teacher coaches will need to learn how to unpack the new curriculums.</p><p>The district will train teachers and school leaders through professional development to support the new shifts in learning approaches, Deering said, and officials will adjust the approaches as they monitor students’ academic progress.</p><p>Since August 2022, over 1,800 Newark public school educators enrolled in The Writing Revolution’s online training to learn and work with the new method. The group has worked with district schools and leaders to visit classrooms and provide ongoing support, according to the organization. Over the summer, the strategy was embedded in the first two units of the English Language Arts curriculum.</p><p>The district said officials will monitor the effectiveness of the new curriculums and approaches mainly through students’ academic progress in reading, but also using state test scores and periodic assessments such as the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) MAP growth assessment.</p><p>Officials will adapt their approach based on student achievement and growth.</p><p><i>Jessie Gomez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at </i><a href="mailto:jgomez@chalkbeat.org" target="_blank"><i>jgomez@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/newark/2023/11/20/newark-public-schools-plans-tackle-difficulties-reading-writing-to-boost-student-achievement/Jessie Gómez2023-11-16T23:00:57+00:002023-11-16T23:00:57+00:00<p>The gaps between Michigan’s lowest and highest performing K-8 students are wider than would have been expected before the pandemic, and some students are falling further behind, according to an analysis of benchmark testing results released this week.</p><p>However, the students and districts that saw the most learning loss also have shown the strongest academic recovery, the research findings suggest.</p><p>“Overall, the results show us that progress is being made, but that progress is gradual — especially compared to how large the impact of the pandemic was,” said Tara Kilbride, interim associate director of the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative, the research group that did the analysis. “It’s going to be a long-term, multiyear effort.”</p><p>The analysis covers assessments given to Michigan students each fall and spring since 2020, and captures how student growth compared with national trends before the pandemic.</p><p>Since spring of 2021, student achievement in the state improved slightly in math and very little in reading, the report found.</p><p>In fall 2020, Michigan students were in the 42nd percentile of national norms in math, meaning 58% of students nationwide performed better. Michigan students fell to the 39th percentile in math by spring 2021. In spring 2023, they returned to the 42nd percentile.</p><p>It is likely that students are still behind where they were in math prior to the pandemic, since the first benchmark assessments were administered well after in-person learning went on pause in March 2020.</p><p>In reading, students in the state fell from the 51st percentile in fall 2020 to the 45th percentile in spring 2021. Results in reading have not moved substantially since then.</p><p>“The differences in recovery align with findings from other states across the country — at least what we see in math,” said Kilbride. “But reading results in other states have been varied. Michigan falls somewhere in the middle.”</p><p>Districts that were the most affected by the pandemic — many of which are in urban areas serving more diverse populations of students from low-income families — made the strongest recovery, according to the report. The accelerated learning rates out of those districts drove overall growth at the state level.</p><p>Overall, Michigan students are making the growth in a school year that would have been expected before COVID, the assessment results in the report show, but some students are still falling behind, because they are not learning at a fast enough pace to catch up.</p><p>The same trend is being seen nationally, researchers say.</p><p>“We are making only very slow progress,” said Dan Goldhaber, a professor at the University of Washington and director of the National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research.</p><p>“You really need the pace of learning to be considerably faster” to make up for lost learning, he added, “and we’re not seeing that.”</p><p>Goldhaber said the state of recovery nationally is “concerning” because tests are highly predictive of how kids will fare later on in life.</p><p>Benchmark assessments offer researchers and policy makers a couple of advantages over yearly <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/detroit/2023/8/31/23853714/michigan-mstep-scores-results/">M-STEP</a> standardized test results, because they more clearly measure student growth during a school year, from fall to spring. Some of the assessments show how kids are achieving at a level beyond their grade.</p><p>In many cases, the assessments can be better than letter grades or report cards at helping parents understand how their children are performing, said Goldhaber.</p><p>“Grades are actually <a href="https://caldercenter.org/publications/course-grades-signal-student-achievement-evidence-grade-inflation-and-after-covid-19">higher than they were before the pandemic</a>, and they don’t seem to comport with what we know about test scores,” he said. “The meaning of an ‘A’ in terms of knowledge as assessed by the test is different from what we knew before the pandemic. I am worried that parents can be getting false signals about how their students are doing from grades, and maybe they should be paying some attention to the tests.”</p><p>The assessment results do have their limitations. The analysis includes assessments from about 773,000 of the 947,000 K-8 students in the state, at 769 of 852 school districts.</p><p>Legislation that passed in 2020 requiring Michigan districts to give the benchmark assessments gave them several options of approved test providers. Because of this, researchers did not include students who moved districts in their analysis.</p><p>Additionally, many students missed testing dates.</p><p>“Some of the reasons students did not take tests are the same reasons that they may have been impacted even more by the pandemic,” said Kilbride. “That could mean our results are showing a rosier picture than what truly happened.”</p><p><i>Hannah Dellinger covers K-12 education and state education policy for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at </i><a href="mailto:hdellinger@chalkbeat.org" target="_blank"><i>hdellinger@chalkbeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/detroit/2023/11/16/michigan-students-make-slow-progress-benchmark-assessments-2023-show/Hannah DellingerAnthony Lanzilote2023-11-08T21:51:41+00:002023-11-08T21:51:41+00:00<p>Philadelphia students’ state test scores are slowly recovering back to pre-pandemic levels, but most students still aren’t proficient in English language arts, math, and science, while longstanding performance gaps between student groups persist, according to new state test scores.&nbsp;</p><p>And the city’s students are still scoring far below their peers in the rest of the state on the tests, which were administered last spring. The scores, released on Wednesday, essentially confirm <a href="https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/7/23863759/philadelphia-schools-students-test-scores-gains-pssa-data">preliminary data shared with the Philadelphia Board of Education</a> in early September showing that Philadelphia students <a href="https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/5/23495300/philadelphia-state-reading-math-scores-pssa-2022-decline-academic-achievement-goals">made small gains from last year</a>, but that most are still not proficient. The scores also indicate that Philadelphia has far to go to meet the school board’s own long-term academic targets.</p><p>Scores released Wednesday for the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, or PSSA, data for grades 3-8 show major disparities between white and Asian students and their Black and Hispanic peers in Philadelphia district and charter schools. Those gaps are most pronounced in math: Only 9.3% of Black students scored proficient and above on the math tests, while 44% of their white counterparts scored proficient or above. Some 11% of Hispanic students scored proficient or better in math while nearly 53% of Asian students scored the same.&nbsp;</p><p>Just 15% of economically disadvantaged students — who make up more than two-thirds of all city students — scored proficient or better in math.&nbsp;</p><p>Overall for the 2022-23 school year, 34.2% of Philadelphia students in grades 3-8 scored proficient or better in English, 20.4% of students in those grades scored proficient or above in math, and 41% of students in grades 4 and 8 scored proficient or better in science.&nbsp;</p><p>In 2021-22, the proficiency rates were 34.7% in English, 16.2% in math, and 37.1% in science — though the district’s science scores from that year do not include charter school students.</p><p>Philadelphia’s scores do show that students are gradually catching up to where they were before the COVID pandemic.</p><p>In 2019, 21.6% of students in Philadelphia scored proficient or better in math, while in English, 35.7% of students were proficient or better.</p><p>In late 2020, as part of a multi-year “goals and guardrails” plan, the district and school board set a goal that by 2026, 52% of students in traditional district schools, in grades 3-8 would achieve proficiency on the state math exam, and 65% of students would achieve proficiency on the state English exam.&nbsp;</p><p>Statewide, students scoring proficient or above in English increased slightly from 54.1% in 2021-22 to 54.5% in 2022-23. Over the same period, proficiency scores in math increased from 35.7% to 38.3%, and science scores increased from 54.4% to 58.9%. (Students did not take the state tests in 2020, while state officials say 2021 scores are not truly comparable to pre-COVID results.)</p><p>“This year’s assessment results underscore what we have said before — that with each passing year, participation and achievement will continue to improve,”&nbsp;Secretary of Education Khalid Mumin said in a statement Wednesday. “Pennsylvania’s results are well on their way to returning to pre-pandemic rates and we look forward to helping our students exceed those levels in the years ahead.”</p><p>But just as a much higher share of white and Asian students were proficient on state exams than Black and Hispanic students, there is a similar disparity when it comes to the lowest scores.&nbsp;</p><p>In English, 13.9% of white students in grades 3-8 scored below basic, compared to 29.4% of Black students, 33.4% of Hispanic students, and 9.6% of Asians, 14.1% of those who identify as multi-ethnic, and 27.7% of economically disadvantaged students.&nbsp;</p><p>In math, such differences are also stark. Overall, 57% of students in grades 3-8 scored below basic. That included 32.6% of white students, 69% of Black students, 66% of Hispanics, 22% of Asians, 45.4% of multi-ethnic students, and 45.4% of those who are economically disadvantaged.</p><p>District officials and board members said they were heartened by the increases from last year — however small — but said there’s more work the district can do.&nbsp;</p><p>Tonya Wolford, the district’s chief of evaluation, research, and accountability, told board members in September it is important to keep in mind that students “likely are not going from below basic to proficient in one year.” She said Philadelphia students will need more time, resources, and support to make the jump.</p><p>To emphasize the importance of students achieving proficiency in reading by third grade, the district also set a goal for 62% of third graders to score proficient on the state exam by 2026. Yet in 2022-23, only 31.2% of third graders scored proficient or above on the PSSA.&nbsp;</p><p>On Keystone exams — another state standardized assessment for high school students in literature, biology, and algebra — Philadelphia students also lag behind peers statewide. Just 25.1% of city students are proficient or better in algebra, compared to 34.2% of students statewide.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at </em><a href="mailto:csitrin@chalkbeat.org"><em>csitrin@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at </em><a href="mailto:dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org"><em>dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org</em></a>.</p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia/2023/11/8/23952992/student-test-scores-show-increase-pre-pandemic-in-english-math/Carly Sitrin, Dale Mezzacappa2023-11-08T19:00:00+00:002023-11-08T19:00:00+00:00<p><a href="https://chalkbeat.admin.usechorus.com/e/23714149"><em><strong>Leer en español.</strong></em></a></p><p>English learners might have been hit especially hard during the pandemic and need extra targeted support, experts and advocates say. But some school district leaders aren’t yet concerned about the data.</p><p><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/17/23835415/colorado-2023-cmas-results-show-slow-academic-recovery-red-flags-for-some-students">Results from 2023 state tests</a> show English learners are further behind their peers from 2019 compared with other student groups, and they’re struggling more to get back on track.&nbsp;</p><p>On the main state tests in English language arts and math, the biggest falloff in proficiency between 2019 and this year is for English learners. They also showed less growth. Of those taking the SAT and PSAT for example, only students with disabilities showed less growth.&nbsp;</p><p>Helping English learners recover from the pandemic has been <a href="https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/u-s-english-learners-language-proficiency-scores-still-below-pre-pandemic-years/2023/04">a complex problem nationwide</a>.&nbsp; And test scores aren’t the only warning sign about how English learners in Colorado schools are faring: While nearly a third of Colorado students were chronically absent last year, for example, <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/10/4/23904009/colorado-chronic-absenteeism-increase-2022-2023-attendance">40% of English learners missed enough school</a> to get that label. In Colorado, English learners make up 12% of all K-12 students. Some districts have much higher concentrations than others.&nbsp;</p><p>There have been two notable approaches to English learners in COVID’s wake when it comes to academics.</p><p>A handful of school districts where English learners made up more ground than the average, or had better growth than non-English learners, said they <a href="https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/co-teach/ell">prioritized co-teaching</a> instead of pulling students out of mainstream classes to receive specific instruction on English language development. At least one district used federal COVID aid to give those students tutoring. And some district leaders also said they’ve noticed more teachers are now interested in learning strategies that specifically help English learners.</p><p>But in other districts, leaders say they haven’t devoted specific resources or strategies to help English learners. In fact, regardless of recent data and what state analysts say about it, they deny that the pandemic had an outsized impact on these students. They point to the changing makeup of English learners, among other factors.</p><p>“There are districts that don’t seem to be very concerned with emerging bilingual students,” said Cynthia Trinidad-Sheahan, president of the Colorado Association for Bilingual Education,&nbsp;</p><p>Whether these students get extra resources and support could depend on Colorado politics. After the Colorado Department of Education published the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) scores in August, Associate Commissioner Floyd Cobb answered a question about how the agency would help close the gap between English learners and their peers by saying: “That’ll need to be answered by the General Assembly.”</p><h2>Most test score data shows negative trend</h2><p>When schools instituted remote learning at the start of the pandemic, some <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/5/21/21265475/less-learning-late-guidance-school-districts-struggle-english-language-learners-during-covid-19">schools struggled to keep offering English language development</a>. Students didn’t have an environment in which to practice their new language, and at home many of their families struggled to support them in accessing remote learning. And when schools resumed in-person instruction, some families of English learners were more reluctant than others to immediately send their children back to classrooms.&nbsp;</p><p>Test score disparities between English learners and native English speakers aren’t new. One reason is that the vast majority of English learners are testing in English before they have a full grasp of the language.&nbsp;</p><p>A limited number of students can take the test in Spanish for a couple of years. But results show those students did much worse than their 2019 counterparts, while native English speakers in the same grade levels have nearly recovered.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>This year’s scores on the ACCESS test, which measures students’ English fluency, show that a smaller share of students are proficient in 2023 than in 2019. And four years ago, 9.4% of first graders scored at a level 1, the lowest level. But in 2023, 23.3% of first graders scored at the lowest level.&nbsp;</p><p>In some cases, the decline in the share of English learners achieving proficiency is just a handful of percentage points. But that doesn’t necessarily capture the pandemic’s impact.&nbsp;</p><p>For example, out of every 100 English learners in the fourth grade who took the CMAS language arts test for reading and writing, roughly eight met expectations, down from about 12 out of 100 in 2019.&nbsp; For every 100 students who aren’t English learners, about 49 met expectations this year, where 54 out of 100 met expectations in 2019.</p><p>Both groups’ proficiency rates dropped by around four to five percentage points. But four fewer English learners achieving proficiency means their share of who met expectations has dropped by roughly a third — far more proportionally than the decline for non-English learners.</p><p>Separately, CMAS growth scores, in which students’ performance is compared to peers who performed similarly in the past, also show English learners aren’t making the same growth as other student groups now, or as English learners did in the past. Students who are behind need a growth score above 50, on a scale of 0-100, to catch up.&nbsp;</p><p>When the state released CMAS scores in August, state officials said that groups of historically disadvantaged students were back to growth levels from before the pandemic, except for multilingual learners on English language arts. They said that without accelerating their learning, those students “will continue to fall further behind.”</p><p>“I believe we have a credible amount of evidence to be able to say that our English learners were impacted by COVID — and impacted disproportionately,” said Joyce Zurkowski, chief assessment officer for the Colorado Department of Education.&nbsp;</p><h2>Some districts downplay negative trends for English learners</h2><p>Despite what the data tells people like Zurkwoski, some district leaders think that the data for English learners in 2019 isn’t comparable to data for English learners in 2023 because of the recent waves of immigrants from Afghanistan, Ukraine, and South America, changing the demographics and make up of those groups.</p><p>State officials say that while that has impacted many districts, the numbers of new arrivals aren’t enough to completely account for all of the drops in achievement data.</p><p>District leaders have had access to state test data for months but have focused on different data points.</p><p>In Cherry Creek, district leaders say they’re monitoring how many students are becoming proficient in English. In Colorado, to move a student out of the English learner designation, teachers use ACCESS scores and state test score data. But they can also use their own observations and internal data to make the case that a student no longer requires specific English classes and services.</p><p>Holly Porter, director of language supports for Cherry Creek, said that typically about 85% of students are deemed English proficient within three years of entering the district, and 95% reach that status within five years.&nbsp;</p><p>Although the most recent numbers aren’t available yet, Porter said that trend has remained consistent.&nbsp;</p><p>When she looks at CMAS scores and other state data, Porter points out that participation dropped, including among English learners. One reason is that in 2018, the <a href="https://www.cde.state.co.us/accountability/2018-cmas-sat-ela-fact-sheet">federal government asked states to allow</a> some newcomer students to not take state language arts tests for the first year they’re enrolled.&nbsp;</p><p>These students tended to show very high growth because they were starting from a point of knowing no English. Porter said excluding these students made data for English learners look worse.&nbsp;</p><p>But that change was already in effect before the pandemic struck.</p><p>Still, for Porter, when comparing the pre-pandemic environment to what followed, she says “it’s just not the same kids, not the same data, not the same experiences. For me there’s too many variables there to say this is a definite issue until I can look at it for a couple years out of COVID.”</p><p>From 2019 to 2023, the growth score of Cherry Creek’s English learners fell from 48 to 45. Growth scores for non-English learners went up from 46 to 50 over the same time span.&nbsp;</p><p>Porter said, however, that growth scores for students who have reached English proficiency have held steady at 53. Students remain monitored as former English learners for two years after they stop receiving language services. Seeing that these students do well on state tests, and that the percentage of students exiting services is still high, Porter said, is additional reassurance that students are getting the English instruction they need to do well in school after they stop getting services.</p><p>Porter said the district isn’t necessarily doing anything to target the recovery of English learners, though 350 newcomer students are getting tutoring through a grant.&nbsp;</p><p>“We found that a lot of students were behind, not just multilingual learners,” she said.</p><p>In the Harrison school district, leaders also are slightly skeptical about comparing this year’s data with pre-pandemic scores. English learners in Harrison showed above average growth on ACCESS tests in 2019, with a score of 61, but that dropped rapidly to 51 in 2023. On CMAS language arts and math tests, student growth scores showed that English learners made less progress than other students.</p><p>While Cherry Creek attributes lower scores to excluding data from newcomer students, leaders in Harrison say a large influx of newcomers has contributed to lower scores. Both say the population of students has changed from from 2019 to 2023.</p><p>District leaders say that’s because starting in January 2021, they saw a dramatic increase in the number of refugees from Afghanistan, Guatemala, and Honduras who aren’t native English speakers.</p><p>Rachel Laufer, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, said the challenges that come with more newcomers is that “schools are working to support not only the language and academic needs of families, but also the <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/29/23896406/denver-migrant-students-schools-families-lose-housing-teachers">other barriers that exist for families</a> that are new to the county.” That includes helping with transportation, housing, and other resources.</p><p>While they aren’t worried about the data, Harrison district leaders said they have made some changes to how they help English learners and newcomers in particular.</p><p>In the last few years, the district has tried to increase staffing to ensure there is at least one licensed teacher working with English learners at each school, instead of having to have them split their time across sites. The district is also slowly trying more co-teaching.&nbsp;</p><p>Laufer said Harrison prioritized bringing back groups like English learners and students with disabilities to in-person classes. But when the district used hybrid learning and parents could decide whether to send their children to school, English learners were more likely to stay home.&nbsp;</p><p>“It was a bigger concern for them,” Laufer said. “I think you could connect that to some of the data.”</p><h2>Getting teachers enthusiastic about helping English learners</h2><p>There are a few Colorado districts where some of the data was more positive for English learners.</p><p>In Pueblo 60, for example, the growth score this year for English learners on the CMAS language arts test is now higher than it is for non-English learners. In Weld County 3J, their growth score in math improved from 2019 to 2023.&nbsp;</p><p>The improvement isn’t uniform within districts. In 3J, for example, despite the significant growth improvements on CMAS math tests, growth scores for ACCESS tests dropped from 56 in 2019 to 41.5 in 2023.</p><p>Adams 14 students, meanwhile, showed significant growth on ACCESS tests for English fluency — the highest among large districts — but they didn’t show improvement on other state tests.</p><p>In Pueblo, district leaders said that they were working on revamping education for English learners even before the pandemic.&nbsp;</p><p>The high school opened a center for newcomer students seven years ago. For the last five years, the district has worked on its philosophy of teaching and on aligning instruction to content standards.&nbsp;</p><p>Both Pueblo and 3J have also worked to reduce the extent to which students are pulled out of classes to receive English language instruction, a strategy also happening in other districts like Harrison and <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/6/23744408/boulder-school-district-english-language-learner-coteaching-changes">Boulder</a> where the data is less positive.&nbsp;</p><p>In Pueblo 60 elementary schools, pull-out instruction no longer occurs during math or reading classes. In middle school, teachers are going into students’ classes instead of pulling them out.&nbsp;</p><p>That was a change suggested by teachers themselves.</p><p>“They really were in tune with what their students needed and so we took a cue from them and said ‘well lets go ahead and try that and see if that made a difference,’” said Lisa Casarez, Pueblo’s English language acquisition specialist. Now, for the middle schools, she thinks it has.</p><p>State data show English learners in Pueblo 60 middle schools had higher growth scores on language arts CMAS tests than elementary students or non-English learner middle school peers.</p><p>In both 3J and Pueblo, leaders said they’ve seen more enthusiasm from all teachers to learn how to help their English learners.</p><p>3J leaders traced that shift to a few years ago when the district rolled out state-mandated rules requiring many teachers to receive training in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education when they renewed their licenses.&nbsp;</p><p>That meant that learning how to help these students didn’t just fall to the dedicated staff member licensed to work with English learners.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’ve seen a lot of interest from general education teachers to support multilingual learners,” said Jenny Wakeman, assistant superintendent for 3J. “That’s something they’ve done naturally.”</p><p>Additional funding also helped. Wakeman said her district used some federal pandemic aid — known as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER — to provide additional interventions specifically for English learners, including before- and after-school tutoring.&nbsp;</p><p>In the meantime, she said teachers started a book club to learn even more about how to help students who are learning English. That’s the kind of attitude that Zurkowski of the Colorado education department says is necessary to help those students catch up.&nbsp;</p><p>“We know that those gaps were large pre-pandemic, they are large post-pandemic,” Zurkowski said. “They warrant intensive intervention efforts.”</p><p><em>Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at yrobles@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/11/8/23941072/covid-english-learner-equity-test-scores-data-concerns-school-districts-colorado/Yesenia Robles2023-11-03T21:27:45+00:002023-11-03T21:27:45+00:00<p>Students at MLK College Preparatory High School in Frayser will get to choose from among six schools to attend beginning next school year, as Memphis-Shelby County Schools begins construction of a new high school on the same site.</p><p>MLK College Prep is closing as it returns to MSCS control after 10 years in the Achievement School District, a failed state effort to turn around struggling schools, mostly under charter operators. The school board <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/19/23801083/memphis-shelby-county-school-board-charter-school-applications-new-tennessee">rejected the school’s bid</a> to return to the district as a charter school.</p><p>The new school on the site, which is expected to open in 2027, will replace MLK College Prep and nearby Trezevant High School. Trezevant, which is in the district-run iZone turnaround program, is one of the six schools that displaced MLK students can choose to attend next year, district officials said at a town hall meeting Thursday.</p><p>The others are Craigmont High, Medical District High, Raleigh-Egypt High, Middle College High and Manassas High.</p><p><aside id="zzBRVW" class="sidebar float-right"><h3 id="qRU5dq">Six options for MLK College Prep students</h3><p id="KoWGTF">MLK College Preparatory High School is closing as it exits a state-run turnaround program. Students assigned there will have six schools to choose from next year: </p><ul><li id="VgSydx"><strong>Trezevant High:</strong> Part of MSCS’ iZone school turnaround program, and the closest to MLK College Prep.</li><li id="XNI2wb"><strong>Craigmont High:</strong> Focuses on college prep and international studies.</li><li id="TXjnpl"><strong>Medical District High:</strong> Focuses on college prep and health services; located at Southwest Tennessee Community College</li><li id="PRhqWR"><strong>Raleigh-Egypt High:</strong> A comprehensive high school</li><li id="X4trgT"><strong>Middle College High:</strong> Focuses on college preparation; partners with Christian Brothers University</li><li id="DNaH70"><strong>Manassas High:</strong> A community school in MSCS’ iZone turnaround program.</li></ul><p id="dLadwJ"></p></aside></p><p>Patrice Thomas, chief of strategic operations and planning adviser for MSCS, explained that MLK College Prep students will be assigned to Trezevant High by default. Transportation will be provided to Trezevant, but it will also be provided to two other schools that draw the most MLK College Prep students.</p><p>“Trezevant is the closest school to MLK, but that might not be the option for all our students,” Thomas said.&nbsp;</p><p>“We want to get a list of the top two schools that most of the students are interested in attending, and we’ll provide the transportation,” she said.</p><p>Two of the six schools — Middle College High and Medical District High — have minimum requirements for enrollment and may be off limits to some MLK College Prep students.</p><p>District communications chief Cathryn Stout said the district doesn’t have a lot of flexibility around the requirements because those schools are connected to college campuses, and many of the requirements were tied to students’ behavior.</p><p>“They want to make sure that students who are coming to use their college campuses, their college resources, have a certain behavior level,” Stout said.</p><p>A new <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/13/23682582/memphis-shelby-county-schools-commission-capital-funding-frayser-trezevant-mlk-construction">high school in Frayser</a> has been on the drawing board for some time, and for years, the district has been seeking funding for a school to replace <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/6/16/23171616/memphis-schools-shelby-county-commission-budget-frayser-facility-upgrades-construction">Trezevant, </a>whose deferred maintenance bills are among the highest of the public schools.&nbsp;</p><p>This year, MSCS received <a href="https://shelbycountytn.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/13514">$9.9 million</a> from the Shelby County Commission to help build the state-of-the-art school, which is expected to cost around $90 million.</p><p>Construction is expected to begin next April and end by February 2027, according to a schedule submitted by <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tn/scsk12/Board.nsf/files/CVTTJ876BA76/$file/Attachment%20A%20-%20Preconstruction%20Project%20Schedule%209-14-23.pdf">TWF Builders</a>, the contractors for the project.&nbsp;</p><p>Reaction to the announcement of the high school choices for next year was mixed at Thursday’s town hall.&nbsp;</p><p>While most parents and attendees welcomed the idea of a new high school, some said they were frustrated, because they thought the students were going to remain in the school at least for the next school year.&nbsp;</p><p>Others worried about their children adjusting to a new school, and that “territorialism” at Trezevant might lead to their children being bullied.</p><p>“It is frustrating to parents, and I don’t think it’s fair to them that they’ve heard so many different stories,” said Tasha Williams, who came out to support the parent group Memphis Lift.&nbsp;</p><p>“We have to roll with the punches,” Williams said, “but the parents had gotten comfortable, because they thought they had time to plan, and they found out that they didn’t.”</p><p>Bobby White, CEO of Frayser Community Schools, the charter network that managed MLK College Prep, told parents that the new high school would offer a new beginning for the neighborhood.</p><p>“I know that this is challenging. I know that this is life changing,” he said. “But this is a one-time opportunity for 38127. The discomfort of the moment shouldn’t get in the way of the excitement for the future.”</p><p><em>Bureau Chief Tonyaa Weathersbee oversees Chalkbeat Tennessee’s education coverage. Reach her at </em><a href="mailto:tweathersbee@chalkbeat.org"><em>tweathersbee@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/11/3/23945539/mlk-college-prep-trezevant-students-have-choices-during-frayser-construction/Tonyaa Weathersbee2023-11-03T00:01:41+00:002023-11-03T00:01:41+00:00<p>After months of asking Tennesseans how the state should judge its public schools when giving them their first A-F letter grades, Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds mostly ignored the feedback.</p><p>In her first major initiative since taking the helm of the state education department in July, Reynolds chose a school grading system that elevates the importance of proficiency — whether students are meeting certain academic standards on state tests — over the progress that schools make toward meeting those standards over the course of a year.</p><p><a href="https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/stateboardofeducation/documents/2023-sbe-meetings/november-2,-2023-sbe-workshop-meeting/11-2-23%20A-F%20Letter%20Grade%20Calculation_SBE%20Presentation%20November%202023.pdf">Her plan,</a> unveiled on Thursday, will mark a sharp change of course for Tennessee, <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2017/3/20/21099644/william-sanders-pioneer-of-controversial-value-added-model-for-judging-teachers-dies">considered a pioneer in emphasizing growth measurements</a> to assess its students, teachers, and schools.&nbsp;</p><p>It’s also significantly different from what Tennesseans have asked state officials for since Reynolds announced in August that an overhaul in the state’s grading system was coming. The overwhelming feedback at 10 town halls, meetings with <a href="https://www.tn.gov/education/news/2023/10/10/tdoe-announces-school-letter-grades-working-group-members-.html">stakeholders</a>, and in <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TnFQXlpbmyFLlGxGVXW_4qQ74ia-fIUb">nearly 300 public comments</a> was for keeping the calculation focused on growth, as it has been the last five years.&nbsp;</p><p>Reynolds’ plan is similar to the <a href="https://excelined.org/policy-playbook/a-f-school-grading/">model backed by ExcelinEd</a>, the education advocacy group founded by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and where Reynolds previously served as policy director.&nbsp;</p><p>It will still include improvement as a factor, as required by a <a href="https://advance.lexis.com/documentpage/?pdmfid=1000516&amp;crid=df2607e3-9a8f-49f5-a945-fab91492ab50&amp;nodeid=ABXAABAACABC&amp;nodepath=%2fROOT%2fABX%2fABXAAB%2fABXAABAAC%2fABXAABAACABC&amp;level=4&amp;haschildren=&amp;populated=false&amp;title=49-1-228.+School+grading+system+%E2%80%94+State+report+card+%E2%80%94+Implementation+%E2%80%94+Notice.&amp;config=025054JABlOTJjNmIyNi0wYjI0LTRjZGEtYWE5ZC0zNGFhOWNhMjFlNDgKAFBvZENhdGFsb2cDFQ14bX2GfyBTaI9WcPX5&amp;pddocfullpath=%2fshared%2fdocument%2fstatutes-legislation%2furn%3acontentItem%3a5JVC-W5F0-R03N-03SY-00008-00&amp;ecomp=7gf5kkk&amp;prid=25a71bdb-d117-4589-9b5e-a6b8b0768a54">2016 Tennessee law</a>, but achievement will get more weight than under the original formula — and there won’t be a way for schools to meet the achievement criteria by meeting certain improvement goals, according to a presentation to the state Board of Education.</p><p>“This version is recalibrating that balance point and is going to say more about where the kids are in those schools right now,” said David Laird, assistant commissioner of assessment and accountability in the education department. “It is less of a referendum on maybe what the school’s impact has been, but it’s more clearly articulating their challenges right now.”</p><p>The department also announced that the grades will be released in mid-December, a month later than previously planned. State officials say they need more time to verify data going into the grades.&nbsp;</p><p>This is the first time the state will issue its letter grades since the 2016 law requiring them took effect. Previous attempts were called off because of <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2018/5/14/21105050/it-s-official-results-from-tennessee-s-ugly-testing-year-won-t-count-for-much-of-anything">testing glitches</a> and the <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/3/20/21196085/all-states-can-cancel-standardized-tests-this-year-trump-and-devos-say">pandemic</a>.</p><p>There are several other changes to the calculation.&nbsp;</p><p>The formula will factor in test scores for science and social studies, although not as much as for math and English language arts, which were the focus of the original model.</p><p>Gone is data related to chronic absenteeism. A new factor will be how well schools are helping their lowest-performing quartile of students to improve. For high schools, college and career readiness will be included, based on measures such as ACT scores, postsecondary credits, or industry credentials.</p><p>The <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2019/9/10/21108819/a-renewed-debate-in-tennessee-should-schools-be-judged-by-how-much-students-know-or-how-much-they-gr">debate about growth vs. proficiency</a> was the biggest concern for school leaders who have been waiting and planning for grades for five years.</p><p>Focusing on proficiency likely will mean fewer A’s and generally worse grades than expected for many schools, especially those serving students from lower-income families in rural and urban communities.&nbsp;</p><p>Beyond the stigma of getting a D or an F, officials representing those schools eventually may face hearings before the state Board of Education or audits of their spending and academic programming.</p><p>Several board members worried that teachers could flee schools graded D or F, exacerbating the challenges faced by schools in high-poverty areas, where students face extra challenges before they even walk into a classroom.&nbsp;</p><p>“It’s a struggle for me to think about saying everyone should pull themselves up by their bootstraps, when some folks have a closet full of boots, and some have none,” said Darrell Cobbins, who represents Memphis on the board.</p><p>Many education advocates worried the state could return to an era when schools with many affluent students coasted to the top ratings, while doing little to show they were helping students improve. Meanwhile, schools in high-poverty areas will have little chance to earn an A or B, they told Chalkbeat.</p><p>“Measuring only absolute proficiency for 50% of a school’s grade will most certainly disadvantage our highest poverty schools,” said Erin O’Hara Block, a school board member for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, who served on the working group giving input to the state.</p><p>“I’m not sure what this system is supposed to motivate for schools, nor how it will truly inform parents on differences in what various schools can offer to their children,” she said.</p><p>Reynolds said the letter grades are a tool to provide families and school communities with information they can use to make decisions, not necessarily to incentivize schools to improve.</p><p>“We want to tell the truth about whether or not our kids are actually achieving,” she said.</p><p>But Gini Pupo-Walker, director of the Education Trust in Tennessee, is hopeful the grades will somehow be tied to extra resources to help struggling schools.</p><p>“We look forward to learning more about how the state plans to support schools that receive D’s and F’s,” she said, “and ensure schools are paying attention to the success of all students.”</p><p><em>Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at </em><a href="mailto:maldrich@chalkbeat.org"><em>maldrich@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/11/2/23944324/a-f-school-letter-grades-delayed-with-new-formula-lizzette-reynolds/Marta W. AldrichCourtesy of Tennessee Department of Education2023-10-31T19:01:51+00:002023-10-31T19:01:51+00:00<p>A greater share of Chicago Public Schools students graduated last school year than in 2022, reaching a new record, officials announced Tuesday.&nbsp;</p><p>The graduation rate of 84% — representing students who graduated in four years — was 1.1 percentage points higher than the graduation rate for the Class of 2022, when <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/24/23421421/chicago-public-schools-graduation-rates-freshman-on-track-nations-report-card">82.9% of high school students graduated</a> on time. The dropout rate for the Class of 2023 was slightly higher at 9.4% than it was for the Class of 2022, which saw&nbsp;8.9% of students drop out between freshman year and graduation.</p><p>Chicago Public Schools’ five-year graduation rate for the Class of 2022 — which includes students who take extra time to finish their diploma either at a traditional or alternative school — was 85.6%, 1.6 percentage points higher than for the class of 2021 when it was 84%.</p><p>District officials announced the numbers with fanfare at Walter H. Dyett High School for the Arts, with CPS CEO Pedro Martinez flanked by Mayor Brandon Johnson and joined virtually by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.&nbsp;</p><p>Martinez said the rising graduation rate was a sign that the district is continuing to recover from the pandemic, reminding the audience that the students in the Class of 2023 were freshmen as the pandemic started in 2020, followed by two school years of remote and hybrid learning.&nbsp;</p><p>“When you think about their last year, their senior year, was probably their most normal year, I want you to take these results and put them in that context,” Martinez said.&nbsp;</p><p>Cardona described the graduation rates as “promising signs for the future of education in Chicago.” He highlighted the district’s use of federal COVID relief dollars, which CPS has put toward several purposes, including covering teacher salaries and hiring more instructional staff.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>The announcement came one day after Illinois state education officials released statewide data, including graduation rates that <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/10/30/23935677/illinois-2023-test-scores-absenteeism-enrollment">had also increased</a> across Illinois. (The state and Chicago Public Schools calculate graduation rates differently, so Chalkbeat is unable to provide direct comparisons.)&nbsp;</p><p>Chicago’s graduation rate has steadily increased over time, hitting <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/24/23421421/chicago-public-schools-graduation-rates-freshman-on-track-nations-report-card">a record high</a> in 2022 even as students have faced academic challenges connected to the pandemic. Tuesday’s announcement comes on the heels of another report that found a rising share of CPS students are <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/10/12/23914495/chicago-public-schools-college-enrollment-completion-graduation">enrolling in college</a>.</p><p>Racial disparities among graduates still remain, though they are narrowing. Graduation rates increased for Black, Hispanic and Asian American students, while dropping slightly for white students — by .4 percentage points — compared to the Class of 2022.&nbsp;Rates also dropped for multiracial students by 5.7 percentage points.</p><p>Nearly 75% of Black boys graduated in four years, up from roughly 65% five years ago, according to district data.&nbsp;</p><p>Despite higher graduation rates, SAT scores dipped for the Class of 2023, to an average composite score of 914. The average score for the Class of 2022 was 927, according to district data. Separately, the district also saw slightly fewer ninth graders — 88.7% — who were on track to graduate by 2026. That’s compared to 88.8% of the class that’s one year older than them.&nbsp;</p><p>As the pandemic set in, the district <a href="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25048034/10312023_ReemaAmin_Walter_H._Dyett_HS_01.jpg">relaxed some grading policies,</a> as did <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2020/10/26/21535489/nyc-grades-during-pandemic">other school systems</a> across the nation — raising questions about how such policies may have contributed to CPS’s rising graduation rates.&nbsp; Martinez argued that an increase in students completing college-level credits was a sign students were held to a high standard. Just under half of the Class of 2023 earned early college credits, a 5% increase from 2022, according to the district.</p><p>One of those students is Zaid Orduño, who said at Tuesday’s press conference that he took college-level courses at Daley College during his time at Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy, through the district’s Early College Program. His classes at Daley included English, math, sociology, and psychology, and he ultimately earned an associate’s degree alongside his high school diploma.&nbsp;</p><p>Taking those classes, he said, inspired him to pass up his original plan of joining his family’s construction business and instead pursue a civil engineering degree at Illinois Tech, he said.&nbsp;</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/Q4XZLrqNJ7b6LjnxQa8geMJw6ec=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/IGOVGU2I3BDD3PZX55MIGUYU5Q.jpg" alt="A wall at Walter H. Dyett High School for the Arts is dedicated to remembering a hunger strike held in 2015 to demand for the reopening of Dyett, which was closed at the time." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>A wall at Walter H. Dyett High School for the Arts is dedicated to remembering a hunger strike held in 2015 to demand for the reopening of Dyett, which was closed at the time.</figcaption></figure><p>Dyett, located in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side, saw its graduation rate tick up by more than 3 percentage points, to 86%. Johnson noted how far the school had come since he and other community members participated in a <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2020/8/17/21372534/dyett-high-school-hunger-strikers-five-year-anniversary">highly publicized hunger strike</a> in 2015 to demand that Dyett, then shuttered, reopen. He also recognized fellow hunger striker Ald. Jeanette Taylor, who now represents the neighborhood nearby in City Council and serves as the chair of the Committee on Education and Child Development.</p><p>“A hunger striker can turn into a mayor and an alderman, and more importantly, a hunger strike can lead to the success that we are experiencing with our students right here at Dyett High School,” Johnson said.&nbsp;</p><p>He also used the moment to once again advocate for<a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/31/23811427/chicago-public-schools-sustainable-community-schools-teachers-union"> expanding the Sustainable Community Schools</a> Initiative that Dyett and 19 other schools are a part of. The program partners schools with a nonprofit that provides wraparound services for students and families.</p><p><em>Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/10/31/23940755/chicago-public-schools-graduation-rates-class-of-2023/Reema Amin2023-10-30T14:00:00+00:002023-10-30T14:00:00+00:00<p>Illinois public school students made strides in recovering from pandemic disruption, with gains in English language arts and math test scores, a jump in high school graduation rates in the past decade, and an increase in students taking advanced courses, according to data from the state’s latest report card.&nbsp;</p><p>The report card issued by the Illinois State Board of Education shows that more students were considered proficient on standardized tests in the 2022-23 school year compared to the previous year, but scores have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.&nbsp;</p><p>In a press conference on Wednesday, State Superintendent Tony Sanders said educators and families should be proud of the progress made on the 2023 report card.&nbsp;</p><p>“I’m so happy to see a second year of strong recovery post-pandemic,” said Sanders. “We’re moving fast toward recovery, although we still have quite a distance to travel.”</p><p>The annual report card provides families and educators with a glimpse at how their district and school are doing in comparison to the state’s 850-plus districts. Among the metrics collected by the State Board of Education are test scores, enrollment data, chronic absenteeism, teacher retention rates, graduation rates, the number of students taking advanced coursework such as Advanced Placement or dual credit, and participation in career and technical education programs.</p><p>The latest report card offers some good news for Illinois districts that are still working to help students recover from pandemic-related disruptions. To address learning gaps, they have focused on hiring more staff, creating after-school programs, and hosting summer learning opportunities. Some of those efforts were funded with the $7 billion in federal COVID relief funding the state received.&nbsp;</p><p>However, the state’s public schools will have to figure out how to continue these programs as federal relief funding will expire at the end of September 2024. Chicago Public Schools <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/10/25/23932514/chicago-public-schools-budget-deficit-covid-relief-dollars-fiscal-cliff#:~:text=The%20current%20budget%20is%20%249.4,a%20way%20to%20boost%20revenue.">officials recently projected a $391 million budget deficit</a> next school year.&nbsp;</p><p>Here are some of the highlights from the 2023 report card.&nbsp;</p><h2>Test scores are trending up, but haven’t returned to 2019 levels</h2><p>Illinois standardized test scores show that reading recovery continues to improve while math scores have yet to make similar progress. While all student groups across race and ethnicity made significant gains, the report card found that Black students made the most progress. The state board noted that Black students were hit the hardest in the pandemic and often remained in remote learning longer than other students when school buildings began to reopen in the school year 2020-2021.</p><p>On the 2023 Illinois Assessment of Readiness, known as the IAR, a yearly standardized test used as one of the measures in the report card, 35.4% of students between third grade and eighth grade were proficient in reading, a 5.2 percent point increase compared to 2022. In math, 27% of students in those same grades were proficient, a 1.6 percentage point increase. However, the 2023 scores still fell short of pre-pandemic levels; in 2019, 37.8% were proficient in English language arts and 31.8% in math.&nbsp;</p><p>Last month, <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/19/23880833/chicago-public-schools-2023-test-scores-reading-math-state-standards-iar#:~:text=Most%20schools%20saw%20improvements%20over,compared%20with%2023.6%25%20in%202019.">Chicago Public Schools reported</a> about 26% of students were considered proficient in&nbsp; English Language Arts on the 2023 IAR test, compared with 27.3% in 2019. For math, 17.5% of students passed, compared with 23.6% in 2019.&nbsp;</p><p>Students were unable to take the spring assessment in 2020 when the pandemic upended learning and forced school buildings to close. In 2021, participation was low as some schools had the option of offering the exam in the spring or in the fall, but participation rates returned to normal in 2022.&nbsp;</p><p>For 11th graders who took the SAT, a standardized exam used by colleges as part of admission criteria, 31.6% of students were considered proficient in reading and 26.7% were considered proficient in math. That’s fewer than the 36.2% of 11th graders in 2019 who scored proficient in reading and the 34.4% who scored proficient in math.</p><h2>State sees increase in enrollment for English learners</h2><p>The state’s overall enrollment continues to decline steadily. Over 1.8 million students were enrolled in Illinois public schools in 2022-23, a loss of more than 11,500 students compared to the previous school year. In a media call on Wednesday, Sanders said the declines track with a drop in birth rates across the nation and in Illinois.&nbsp;</p><p>Public schools saw an increase of Latino and Asian American students enrolling last school year. However, white and Black student enrollment has decreased.&nbsp;</p><p>Across student groups, English language learners had the largest bump in enrollment over the last five years, according to the report card. Sanders said the state board cannot say for sure how many students are migrants from Central America or refugee students from Ukraine or Afghanistan.&nbsp;</p><h2>Students continue to be chronically absent at high rate</h2><p>About 28% of students were chronically absent from school last year. That’s a slight decrease — about a 1.5 percentage point — from the 2021-22 school year when about 29.8% of students were chronically absent.</p><p>Students are considered chronically absent when they miss about 18 days, or 10% of school, with or without a valid excuse. Student mental health days also count towards chronic absenteeism.&nbsp;</p><p>When students miss a significant amount of school <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/19/23512704/illinois-chronic-absenteeism-covid-mental-health#:~:text=Chalkbeat%20Chicago's%20analysis%20of%20state,Schools%20rate%20was%20almost%2045%25.">it can impact their academic performance.</a>&nbsp;</p><p>The report card shows high rates of absenteeism among Black, Native American, and Latino students. But Black, Latino, Asian American, and white students also saw improvement in school attendance compared in 2021-22. During last school year, chronic absenteeism rates were high among students from low-income families, students experiencing homelessness, and students with Individualized Education Programs.</p><p>The Illinois data is similar to what schools are seeing across the country. Attendance Works — a nonprofit organization that looks into attendance rates across the country — has <a href="https://www.attendanceworks.org/chronic-absence-remained-a-significant-challenge-in-2022-23/">seen early data </a>from 11 states that found about 27.9% of students were chronically absent during the 2022-23 school year — a 2.2% decrease in chronic absenteeism rates compared with the 2021-22 school year.&nbsp;</p><h2>Illinois students graduation rates improve</h2><p>High school seniors who graduated in the spring of 2023 entered high school in 2019. Their freshman year was disrupted in March when COVID-19 shuttered schools. Now state data shows that those students graduated at the highest rate in 13 years, excluding 2019-20 when graduation rates were inflated due to a reduction in graduation requirements in the spring of 2020.</p><p>Last school year, 87.6% of students graduated from high school, a 1.4% increase from 2019 and a 3.8% increase from 2011. Black and Latino students saw significant gains when it comes to graduation rates compared to 2019 — 80.1% of Black students, or a 3.6% increase, and 88.5% of Latino students, a 6.3% gain, graduated from high school in the spring of 2023.</p><p>During the press conference on Wednesday, Sanders was asked what factor led to higher student achievement for Black students when compared to previous years. Sanders attributed much of it to the evidence-based funding formula.</p><p>“The investment that local school districts have been making to better support our students of color is, I think, why you’re seeing some of these significant increases not only in student proficiency, but also in graduation rates and other key indicators,” said Sanders.</p><p><em>Samantha Smylie is the state education reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago, covering school districts across the state, legislation, special education, and the state board of education. Contact Samantha at </em><a href="mailto:ssmylie@chalkbeat.org"><em>ssmylie@chalkbeat.org.</em></a></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/10/30/23935677/illinois-2023-test-scores-absenteeism-enrollment/Samantha Smylie2023-10-30T10:30:00+00:002023-10-30T10:30:00+00:00<p>Proposed legislation in Michigan that would eliminate student test scores as a factor in teacher evaluations would represent a victory for teachers if it passes, and a turnabout in an education reform effort that began nearly a decade ago.</p><p>Current state law requires that student scores on standardized tests count for 40% of a teacher’s performance rating. Under two <a href="https://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(barljp2iodsdxabm1vm5adq0))/mileg.aspx?page=GetObject&amp;objectname=2023-SB-0396">proposed </a>bills that passed the Senate last week, that requirement would go away, and the districts would be able to use their own criteria for evaluating teachers, such as classroom observations, samples of student work, rubrics, and lesson plans.</p><p>The bills would also de-emphasize evaluations as a factor in districts’ decisions to fire or demote teachers or deny them tenure. But they would require districts to take action against teachers who don’t improve after repeated interventions.</p><p>The House Education Committee is expected to take up the bills on Tuesday.</p><p>Here’s some background on the current law, and highlights of the new proposals:</p><h2>Michigan law followed a push for more accountability</h2><p>Michigan’s law on test scores and evaluations grew out of a push for greater accountability in education that began in the 2000s. Some advocacy groups theorized that more rigorous reviews would generate detailed feedback that could be used to improve teachers’ performance.</p><p>In 2009, under the Obama administration, the federal government offered money from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to states that made policy changes, including revamping teacher evaluations to include test scores.&nbsp;</p><p>In response, Michigan passed a law in 2015 requiring that teacher evaluations be 25% based on student growth, as measured by changes in test scores from one year to the next. The requirement went up to 40% at the start of the 2018-19 school year.</p><h2>Skepticism of test-based evaluations has grown</h2><p>Teachers have long argued that growth in test scores is an unfair way to measure their job performance, because it compares the performance of two different cohorts of students.</p><p>And in recent years, many education experts and policy analysts have become more vocal in questioning the changes that were made in the 2010s.</p><p>By 2019, nine states had stopped requiring that test scores be considered in teacher evaluations. Many other states have considered making the same change.</p><p>Proponents of returning to the old evaluation method say there is <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w30995">no evidence </a>to suggest the current system benefits students, and that tying ratings to test scores contributes to burnout amid persistent <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/13/23069241/michigan-teacher-shortage-retirement-turnover">teacher shortages</a>.</p><p>Critics are concerned that de-emphasizing student test scores could lower standards for teachers while students <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/31/23853714/michigan-mstep-scores-results">are still struggling to recover</a> from pandemic learning loss and need high-quality instruction.</p><h2>How the proposals would change teacher evaluations</h2><p>The bills proposed in Michigan would be a return to the system that was used before 2015. Districts would have more power to&nbsp;set their own standards to decide how and when teachers are evaluated.&nbsp;</p><p>But the proposals would still require districts to set up a common rating system, and they prescribe some consequences for teachers who don’t measure up.&nbsp;</p><p>School districts would have to start using teacher and administrator rating systems by July 1, 2024, that include four possible ratings: “highly effective,” “effective,” “minimally effective,” and “ineffective.” After that, districts would have to add “developing” and “needing support” ratings as well.</p><p>Teachers rated “needing support” would get individualized development plans from their districts to improve their performance within 180 days.</p><p>Districts would not be allowed to fire, deny tenure to, or withhold full certification from teachers rated “ineffective.” But they would be required to terminate teachers or administrators who are rated “needing support” three years in a row. Those who receive that rating could request reviews of their evaluations.</p><p>Staff who conduct evaluations would have to take “rater reliability training” from their districts.</p><p>A Senate analysis of the proposals said local districts might face some new costs to update teacher and school administrator evaluations and to incorporate collective bargaining agreements as part of that process.</p><p>On the other hand, it says, schools could save money by not having to calculate testing data, and by evaluating consistently effective teachers less often.</p><p><em>Hannah Dellinger is a reporter for Chalkbeat Detroit covering K-12 education. Contact Hannah at </em><a href="mailto:hdellinger@chalkbeat.org"><em>hdellinger@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/detroit/2023/10/30/23935656/michigan-teacher-evaluation-standardized-test-scores-student-reform-bills-senate/Hannah Dellinger2023-10-27T19:24:21+00:002023-10-27T19:24:21+00:00<p>An hour before dismissal on a recent Friday afternoon, eight Brighton Park Elementary School students huddled in a classroom with Jennifer Moorhouse, a teacher who works with English language learners.</p><p>They were there for a voluntary, biweekly support group run by Moorhouse and Stephanie Carrillo, a school counselor, for students grappling with the upheaval of immigration and the adjustment to a new country, new city, and new school.</p><p>She asked the children — a mix of sixth through eighth graders who had recently arrived in Chicago as part of an influx of migrant families — to share the best and worst part of their week.</p><p>One boy said the best thing was that his family had moved to a new house. Another child looked up, her hair slightly covering her face. She shrugged her shoulders and struggled to come up with a worst moment.</p><p>That’s OK, Moorhouse said in Spanish, she doesn’t have to have a low point.</p><p>The girl then added, “No mejor,” meaning there was no high point either. After a moment of silence, the whole group burst into laughter.</p><p>These students, who arrived in Chicago between last year and this year, are among the more than 20,000 newly arrived migrants in Chicago since last August, with many fleeing from Central, South American and African countries experiencing political and economic turmoil, <a href="https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/texas-new-arrivals/home/faqs.html">according to city officials.</a>&nbsp;</p><p>Chicago Public Schools does not track immigration status and has not shared how many migrant students have enrolled in schools. But the district has pointed to clues of an increase, including <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/28/23895264/chicago-schools-repairs-buildings-facilities-plan-career-technical-education-classrooms">7,800 more English learners enrolled</a> this school year, compared to an annual average increase of 3,000 such students.</p><p>As of mid-September, 2,250 migrant children were housed in the city’s shelters, according to records from the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications that were obtained by Chalkbeat.</p><p>Educators have raised concerns that many Chicago schools don’t have the resources, such as staff, to provide new migrants with the right language instruction, recently <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/10/18/23923354/illinois-state-board-chicago-educators-migrants">pleading with the state</a> to send more help.&nbsp;</p><p>But there are also questions about whether newcomers have the social-emotional support they need at school. These students have potentially endured dangerous journeys to the United States, on top of the stress of leaving their homes behind for shelters or other temporary living arrangements in a foreign place.&nbsp;</p><p>That latter concern led Moorhouse to launch the support group at Brighton Park last year after she met a migrant student who was showing signs of trauma. The student, whom Moorhouse met in January, didn’t want to be in school and sometimes, the student’s body would shake uncontrollably, she said.&nbsp;</p><p>At one of the sessions Moorhouse held, the student shared a personal story about his journey to the United States. Afterward, Moorhouse recalled, the student said: “My chest isn’t hurting. I can breathe.” Moorhouse felt it was a sign of healing.&nbsp;</p><p>In some ways, Brighton Park is well-positioned to host this support group. As <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/31/23811427/chicago-public-schools-sustainable-community-schools-teachers-union">a community school,</a> it partners with a nonprofit organization to provide wraparound services for its students. Carrillo, the school counselor who helps Moorhouse with the support group, works with the school on behalf of its partner nonprofit, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council. Brighton Park Elementary’s community schools funding also helped to pay for the training on the model that the support group is based on, according to Cecilia Mendoza, the school’s assistant principal.</p><p>The model is known as STRONG, or Supporting Transition Resilience of Newcomer Groups, which focuses on teaching children how to understand and cope with their stress before they’re invited to share more personal details about their journey to the United States, if they choose.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>It’s unclear how many schools have specific support groups for migrant students like the one at Brighton Park. About $35 million of the district’s budget this year was allocated for social-emotional curriculum, behavioral health supports for students, and additional social workers and counselors, according to a district spokesperson.</p><p>This year, Moorhouse and Carrillo are starting with the basics.&nbsp;</p><p>On that recent Friday afternoon, in the classroom where Moorhouse gathered with eight of her students, bright orange and blue strips of paper on the dry erase board described concepts of melting and freezing in English and Spanish: “Que le pasa al chocolate que se deja al sol?” (What happens to chocolate left in the sun?).&nbsp;</p><p>A plastic cupboard sat against the wall, filled with shoes, socks, and clothing donations Moorhouse had collected through her Amazon Wishlist. Sheets of paper taped to the wall have words of affirmation in both languages: “Tus emociones son validas.” (Your feelings are valid.)</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/kf9anzgH59TC0qpmnNmFjm_wciY=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/Z7YSWIRBAFESZOGMWSG3CJPWAE.jpg" alt="A classroom for English learners at Brighton Park Elementary School has brightly colored phrases translated in English and Spanish on the dry erase board. " height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>A classroom for English learners at Brighton Park Elementary School has brightly colored phrases translated in English and Spanish on the dry erase board. </figcaption></figure><p>After their icebreaker, Moorhouse passed around crayons and a worksheet with the outline of a human body. She explained that stress can cause physical pain and asked her students to color in the part of their bodies that hurt when they are stressed.&nbsp;</p><p>“Entonces para mi, cuando yo estoy estresado, mi estómago me duele,” she told the students, explaining that her stomach hurts when she’s stressed.&nbsp;</p><p>One girl, wearing a pair of sneakers donated through the Amazon wishlist, used a green crayon to fill in the top of the head. She colored the shoulders with a green-yellow.&nbsp;</p><p>When Moorhouse asked students to share, one boy said stress gives him a headache, and then he feels like throwing up. A low “hmm” spread through the group, as if others recognized the boy’s feeling.&nbsp;</p><p>At 2:35 p.m., about halfway through the session, the students received a new worksheet. This one had a large triangle on it, and each point represented something different: pensamientos, sentimientos, y acciones. Thoughts, emotions, and actions. Moorhouse wanted the students to reflect on how a thought may lead to a feeling, which ultimately leads to an action.&nbsp;</p><p>After a couple minutes jotting down their thoughts, the students shared their responses. One boy smiled as he described an example: When he’s talking to other students and they suddenly begin speaking in English, he feels as if he’s been removed from the conversation.&nbsp;</p><p>“How does that make you feel?” Moorhouse asked him in Spanish.&nbsp;</p><p>“Bad,” he replied.&nbsp;</p><p>“What’s your action?” Moorhouse responded.</p><p>“I walk away,” he said.</p><p>That day, Mendoza, the assistant principal, was peeking in.&nbsp;</p><p>“I don’t think students or people in general sometimes realize the effect that has on others who only speak one language,” Mendoza said later. “So that really stuck with me, and I thought about how we could have that conversation, perhaps, with the students … because they might not be aware that they’re doing that.”&nbsp;</p><p>Moorhouse then presented a challenge for the students: How can they change their thinking about a situation, in order to elicit better action? One boy gave the example of taking a hard math test that he doesn’t know the answers to, so instead, he asks to go to the bathroom.&nbsp;</p><p>He was stumped when Moorhouse asked him to think of a better action. She opened the floor to the group, but no one came up with an answer good enough for Moorhouse. When she pressed them to think harder, they hit on a solution: He could ask the teacher for help — for understanding the exam, or perhaps even asking to take it another day.</p><p>With about 15 minutes left, Moorhouse and Carillo passed around stress balls shaped like bee hives. They asked the students to squeeze hard and pretend that they were squeezing out the juice.&nbsp;</p><p>A couple of kids laughed as they squeezed their fists and then released pressure.&nbsp;</p><p>Around 2:55 p.m. Moorhouse handed out a blank calendar worksheet. For the following week, students would be expected to log how they’ve practiced relaxation strategies, such as grabbing an ice pack from the nurse or using a stress ball, when feeling stressed. One student shared that drawing helps.&nbsp;</p><p>It was time for dismissal. The students didn’t run out the door. They stayed back to chat with each other. A few grabbed extra bags of Skinny Pop.&nbsp;</p><p>As the weeks go on, Moorhouse and Carrillo will meet individually with each student to assess whether they want to talk more about their personal experiences of coming to the U.S. and what would be appropriate to share with the other students.</p><p>In those conversations, students may show signs of needing more individual counseling provided by the school, such as bursting into tears while recounting a story, Carrillo said.</p><p>Some students take a while to open up, so it’s unclear how much they’ll participate going forward, Moorhouse said. One of those quieter students is the child who had shared that there was no highlight or lowlight of her week. During the hourlong session, this student gradually opened up a little more.&nbsp;</p><p>And when most of the other children left at the end of the day, that student stayed behind. She wanted to talk some more one-on-one with Moorhouse.</p><p><em>Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/10/27/23935304/chicago-public-schools-migrant-students-trauma-support-group-social-emotional-brighton-park/Reema Amin2023-10-26T10:00:00+00:002023-10-26T10:00:00+00:00<p><em>Sign up for&nbsp;</em><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with statewide education news and Memphis-Shelby County Schools.</em></p><p>It was supposed to make things simpler.</p><p>A 2016 Tennessee law required the state to assign each public school a letter grade, A to F, based mostly on student test results. The intent was to give parents and communities an easy way to assess the quality of education at each school.</p><p>Nothing about it has been simple, though. Since the law took effect, the state hasn’t issued any grades, mostly because of <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2018/5/14/21105050/it-s-official-results-from-tennessee-s-ugly-testing-year-won-t-count-for-much-of-anything">testing glitches</a> and the <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/3/20/21196085/all-states-can-cancel-standardized-tests-this-year-trump-and-devos-say">pandemic</a>.</p><p>And now there’s a new complication: As the state prepares to finally issue its first grades in November, the education department and its new leader are revamping the grading formula. The changes likely will mean fewer A’s and generally worse grades than expected for many schools, especially those serving students from lower-income families in rural and urban communities.</p><p>The rollout will be a jolt to many Tennessee public school leaders, who have been waiting and planning for these grades for five years, thinking they understood what the criteria would be. And beyond the stigma, the grades could have real consequences: Officials representing schools that get D’s or F’s eventually may face hearings or audits of their spending and academic programming.</p><p>“It almost seems like we’re trying to change rules after the game’s already been played,” said Brian Curry, a school board member in Germantown, during an August town hall in Memphis to discuss potential changes with state officials.</p><p><aside id="PkZKIA" class="sidebar"><h2 id="6HThjD">Why the letter grades for schools matter</h2><p id="0UKZRs">Tennessee’s 2016 school report card law didn’t include consequences for schools that get low grades.</p><p id="6cTyOT">That changed last year, when <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/4/28/23046905/tisa-funding-formula-tennessee-legislature-governor-lee">Tennessee passed a new system for funding K-12 education.</a></p><p id="4A7Z4m">Under the <a href="https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/112/pub/pc0966.pdf">Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act,</a> or TISA, school districts or charter authorizers can face hearings before the state Board of Education if their schools get D’s or F’s on the state report card, beginning with the 2024-25 school year.</p><p id="v3VCk3">Ultimately, administrators could have to submit a corrective action plan or undergo a state audit of spending and academic programming at the school in question.  </p><p id="eXVSeM">State board member Darrell Cobbins, whose district includes Memphis schools, acknowledges that the increased funding that came with TISA warrants additional accountability. But he wonders about the feasibility of what the law asks of the all-volunteer board. Holding hearings for potentially hundreds of schools will be a “major undertaking,” he said.</p><p id="jlL0h8">The board is working with a consultant, Bellwether Education Partners, to develop a review process that Cobbins hopes will be logical, consistent, and explainable.</p></aside></p><p>At the crux of the state’s late change is a <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2019/9/10/21108819/a-renewed-debate-in-tennessee-should-schools-be-judged-by-how-much-students-know-or-how-much-they-gr">long-running debate over proficiency vs. growth</a> — whether students should be judged based more on whether they meet certain academic standards, or on how much progress they make toward those standards. Where the state lands in that debate is especially important for schools where students face extra challenges even before they walk into a classroom.&nbsp;</p><p>But many public school leaders believe there’s a larger political motive behind the sudden drive by Gov. Bill Lee’s administration to change the rules: advancing his school choice agenda.</p><p>Under a <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2019/5/24/21055492/tennessee-governor-signs-controversial-education-voucher-bill-into-law#:~:text=Bill%20Lee%20quietly%20signed%20his,tuition%20or%20other%20education%20services.">2019 voucher law</a> pushed by Lee, Tennessee now provides taxpayer money to help some families send their children to private schools. But the program has fewer than 2,000 students enrolled in the three counties where it operates, significantly below this year’s 5,000-seat cap. Lee wants to expand enrollment and eventually take the option statewide.</p><p>“School choice has got to be part of what’s driving all this,” said Mike Winstead, director of Maryville City Schools and a <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2017/9/11/21100936/maryville-leader-named-tennessee-s-superintendent-of-the-year">former Tennessee Superintendent of the Year</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>“Think about it,” he continued. “If you have an A or B school in your community, that may not motivate parents to want to pull their kids out of public schools to use a voucher.”</p><p>Several other district leaders brought up the same concern to state officials at town halls hosted by the department in August and September to get public feedback about revising the grading formula. But state officials flatly deny there’s a connection between the voucher law and changes to the grading formula.</p><p>The grading law “was passed to promote transparency, and families should be able to know and to understand how their students’ schools are performing,” a department spokesman said in a statement to Chalkbeat.</p><p>Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds said the goal of the new formula is to generate grades that signify meaningful differences in school performance in a way that make sense to Tennesseans, whether they reflect proficiency, growth, or other criteria that are ultimately chosen.</p><p>“Whether you are a student, parent, teacher, policymaker, or an interested community member, school letter grades will empower all Tennesseans with the information they need to support K-12 public education and our local schools,” she said.&nbsp;</p><h2>Tennessee initially adopted growth-focused model</h2><p><a href="https://advance.lexis.com/documentpage/?pdmfid=1000516&amp;crid=df2607e3-9a8f-49f5-a945-fab91492ab50&amp;nodeid=ABXAABAACABC&amp;nodepath=%2fROOT%2fABX%2fABXAAB%2fABXAABAAC%2fABXAABAACABC&amp;level=4&amp;haschildren=&amp;populated=false&amp;title=49-1-228.+School+grading+system+%E2%80%94+State+report+card+%E2%80%94+Implementation+%E2%80%94+Notice.&amp;config=025054JABlOTJjNmIyNi0wYjI0LTRjZGEtYWE5ZC0zNGFhOWNhMjFlNDgKAFBvZENhdGFsb2cDFQ14bX2GfyBTaI9WcPX5&amp;pddocfullpath=%2fshared%2fdocument%2fstatutes-legislation%2furn%3acontentItem%3a5JVC-W5F0-R03N-03SY-00008-00&amp;ecomp=7gf5kkk&amp;prid=25a71bdb-d117-4589-9b5e-a6b8b0768a54">State law</a> requires that Tennessee’s model for grading schools take into account student performance and improvement, as demonstrated on annual state tests, and it allows inclusion of other reliable indicators of student achievement. The statute directed the education department to come up with a formula to turn those results into a single letter grade for each school, to be published online on the <a href="https://tdepublicschools.ondemand.sas.com">State Report Card</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>When developing the calculation under former Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration, the department stressed achievement and growth in math and English language arts. And it created two pathways for schools to demonstrate achievement.&nbsp;</p><p>One way was based on what the state calls “pure achievement,” meaning that a certain percentage of a school’s students demonstrated a required level of proficiency, skill, or knowledge. By this metric, a school that started the school year with a high proficiency rate was likely to receive an A even if it had not improved student learning during the school year.&nbsp;</p><p>The other way rewarded schools that met certain goals to move their students toward proficiency from one year to the next. The idea was that <em>all schools,</em> especially those serving low-income students or that have historically performed poorly, should have an opportunity to get an A as long as they make strong progress toward the state’s achievement goals.</p><p>So even the achievement part of the grading formula could be fulfilled with strong growth. In this way, Tennessee was an early adopter of a growth-heavy model when developing its <a href="https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/documents/TN_ESSA_State_Plan_Approved.pdf">accountability system</a>.</p><p>“All means all!” became the mantra of then-Education Commissioner Candice McQueen as she worked with education stakeholders for nearly a year to design a system to incentivize improvement for all<em> </em>students — whether they are considered low, average, or high achievers — as well as for all schools, regardless of their demographic makeup.</p><p>Tennessee had modest success with that approach, even though the actual letter grades were never issued. Before the pandemic hit in 2020, students were showing incremental growth in <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2019/8/15/21108642/tennessee-students-improve-on-tnready-tests-how-did-your-school-do">math</a> and <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2018/12/17/21106435/mcqueen-ends-her-tennessee-tenure-the-same-way-she-started-focused-on-reading">reading</a> based on some of the nation’s highest proficiency standards.</p><p>But state lawmakers have become increasingly impatient with the pace of improvement, especially in reading. About a third of the state’s students meet grade-level standards on the English language arts test, which requires students to demonstrate the ability to read closely.&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p>“School choice has got to be part of what’s driving all this. Think about it. If you have an A or B school in your community, that may not motivate parents to want to pull their kids out of public schools to use a voucher.” — Mike Winstead, Maryville City Schools director</p></blockquote><p>“At the end of the day, I want to know: Can you add, subtract, multiply, and divide, and can you read, regardless of how much you have grown from one year to the other?” said Rep. Mark Cochran, an Englewood Republican, during one legislative hearing about the state’s emphasis on growth.</p><p>Meanwhile, the legislature has sought to provide more options for families dissatisfied with the performance of traditional public schools by introducing <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/21/23693150/tennessee-private-school-voucher-esa-expansion-hamilton-knox-legislature-bill-lee">private school vouchers</a> and <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2019/4/17/21107933/tennessee-legislature-approves-governor-s-call-for-a-statewide-charter-school-commission">allowing charter schools</a> to open statewide.&nbsp;</p><p>Now as Tennessee revamps its school grading system, Lee’s administration is poised to shift weight in the equation from growth to pure achievement. Reynolds wants the state to do that by eliminating the growth pathway for demonstrating achievement. Growth would still be a component of the overall grade, as dictated by state law, but a much smaller part.</p><p>“I want to be very clear that when we’re talking about academic achievement, we’re talking about academic achievement,” Reynolds, the new education commissioner, said at an Oct. 12 meeting of education stakeholders.&nbsp;</p><h2>State hears strong calls for retaining growth focus</h2><p>Reynolds, <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/24/23803579/tennessee-education-commissioner-lizzette-gonzalez-reynolds-bill-lee-excelined-school-vouchers-esa">who was sworn in to her post in July,</a> launched the reevaluation of the grading system about a month later as her first major initiative. She invited <a href="https://www.tn.gov/education/news/2023/8/9/tdoe-launches-public-engagement-opportunities-on----school-letter-grades--.html">Tennesseans to weigh in</a> on how the state should measure a school’s academic success. At the time, state officials said all options were on the table.</p><p>At town halls, meetings with <a href="https://www.tn.gov/education/news/2023/10/10/tdoe-announces-school-letter-grades-working-group-members-.html">stakeholders</a>, and in <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TnFQXlpbmyFLlGxGVXW_4qQ74ia-fIUb">nearly 300 public comments</a> from Tennesseans, state officials heard a common theme: Keep some kind of growth option as part of the achievement calculation. Measuring student performance with a single letter grade requires nuance, many educators said, and the growth-based model allows that.</p><blockquote><p>“Is having a campus that has only 15% reading proficiency really a B school, if those kids cannot read?” — Lizzette Reynolds, Tennessee education commissioner</p></blockquote><p>A formula that’s weighted too heavily toward pure achievement, they warned, would produce grades that essentially mirror the economic profiles of the schools — with high-income communities getting the A’s and B’s — and families wouldn’t be able to use the grades to differentiate the performance of one high-poverty school from another.</p><p>“Given the strong correlation between achievement and poverty, I think it’s really difficult to talk about just achievement in isolation. We really need to balance this with growth,” said Madeline Price, policy director for the State Collaborative on Reforming Education, at an Oct. 5 meeting of the stakeholders group.</p><p>“All schools, especially low-income and traditionally low performing schools, should have a very real opportunity to receive an A” if they significantly improve student performance, the leaders of Tennessee’s school superintendent organization wrote in a letter to Reynolds.</p><p>Meaghan Turnbow, who coordinates programs for English language learners in fast-growing Rutherford County Schools, south of Nashville, noted pitfalls in a model that emphasizes proficiency over growth.</p><p>“We have students come to our district from all over the world with various education levels and English levels,” she wrote in a public comment. “Year to year they grow, but it may be several years before they are considered meeting or exceeding expectations.”</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/raret0w8bGxyvv0a-oN-o38bUxs=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/2TLRLTBIVNABFL4CRXL7C6UYMI.jpg" alt="Tennessee Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds speaks to a gathering of school superintendents in September. Reynolds has signaled that she wants to narrow the way the state judges student performance." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Tennessee Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds speaks to a gathering of school superintendents in September. Reynolds has signaled that she wants to narrow the way the state judges student performance.</figcaption></figure><p>But soon after asking for public feedback, Tennessee’s new education chief signaled that she wanted to narrow the way the state judges student performance.</p><p>During an Aug. 29 town hall in Chattanooga, Reynolds acknowledged that the education department, <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/24/23321095/tennessee-school-letter-grades-delayed-again">before scuttling plans to issue grades in the fall of 2022</a> under former Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, had run the numbers but didn’t like what it saw. For instance, she said, a school with 80% of its students reading on grade level might have received a B, but so might a school that had only 15% of students reading on grade level, while also demonstrating high growth.</p><p>“Is having a campus that has only 15% reading proficiency really a B school, if those kids cannot read?” Reynolds asked.</p><p>“We should celebrate growth,” she continued. “We should also celebrate achievement, because at the end of the day, kids can grow. But if they never get on grade level, they don’t have much of a future, particularly when it comes to reading and math.”</p><h2>How a single school could get conflicting evaluations</h2><p>The A-F grading system, as required by the state, was billed as a simple, common-sense tool to help parents understand how their child’s school is doing and compare schools.&nbsp;</p><p>But changes the department is making could add a new layer of complexity for school communities.</p><p>When Tennessee developed its accountability plan in 2017, it opted for a single system to satisfy both the state law and a 2015 federal accountability law called the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA. That way, “we’re not sending different messages to parents and the general public,” said Winstead, the Maryville schools director who served on the state task force that developed the plan.</p><p>ESSA doesn’t require A-F grades, but it directs the state to use its own criteria to identify schools that are academically in the bottom 5%, plus other schools showing low performance or significant disparities across groups of students who are Black, Hispanic, economically disadvantaged, or English learners, or have learning disabilities. Such schools become eligible for additional federal funding.</p><p>Because of the link between the two laws, the schools that would earn the lowest grades under Tennessee’s current formula are the same ones that would get federal support to help them improve. And educators would work with a common set of goals, priorities, and incentives.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/bN7Cdfsjxp6ejEqLoj2yBU2hRuU=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/MB2C6RTFRJFXBD4Z3P2ZSKARZY.jpg" alt="Changes that the Tennessee Department of Education is making could create two separate accountability systems, producing conflicting assessments of how a school is doing." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Changes that the Tennessee Department of Education is making could create two separate accountability systems, producing conflicting assessments of how a school is doing.</figcaption></figure><p>Under Reynolds, the Tennessee education department appears ready to decouple the state’s A-F system from its federal compliance plan. The change would result in Tennessee having two accountability systems, potentially producing conflicting assessments of how a school is doing.</p><p>For example, if the new state formula places less emphasis on certain student groups than the federal system does, a school that has big racial or economic disparities in student performance could still earn high grades from Tennessee based on overall proficiency rates. Meanwhile, a school with low proficiency rates would get a D or an F, even though it may serve certain groups of students better than an A or B school.</p><p>Mary Batiwalla, former assistant commissioner of assessment and accountability in Tennessee, says what’s going on here has parallels in Texas, where Reynolds used to be chief deputy commissioner. Officials there changed their grading criteria this year to apply to schools retroactively. However, after <a href="https://www.tpr.org/education/2023-08-25/texas-school-districts-sue-state-education-commissioner-over-changes-to-a-f-accountability-system">some school districts sued that state</a> over the changes, Texas <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/12/texas-education-accountability-ratings/">delayed the release of its grades</a>.</p><p>Texas lawmakers are also in the midst of a special session on vouchers to debate whether students should be able to use public dollars to attend private schools. Batiwalla worries that officials in both states are hijacking the grading systems for political aims, not to incentivize school communities to improve.</p><p>“If you want to do vouchers, do vouchers,” said Batiwalla, an <a href="https://twitter.com/MBatiwalla/status/1693121748286279859">outspoken critic</a> of Reynolds’ efforts. “Don’t take away this policy tool that has the potential to drive improvement from the rest of the public schools.”</p><h2>Proficiency focus could shortchange some students</h2><p>Other tweaks are likely when Tennessee releases its new equation in the days or weeks ahead, just before giving schools their first set of grades.</p><blockquote><p>“If you want to do vouchers, do vouchers. Don’t take away this policy tool that has the potential to drive improvement from the rest of the public schools.” — Mary Batiwalla, former assistant commissioner, Tennessee Department of Education</p></blockquote><p>The department has heard calls to include social studies and science scores in the calculation, as well as data related to third-grade reading, participation in tutoring programs, and postsecondary indicators like dual enrollment and career and technical education offerings, just to name a few. There’s also a growing consensus around ditching student absenteeism data, which is a factor in the current equation.</p><p>But most educators have their eye on the growth vs. proficiency debate. They worry that greater emphasis on proficiency will motivate schools to focus on improving “bubble kids” — those scoring just under proficiency — instead of working to improve students at all levels of achievement.</p><p>“You’re incentivizing bad choices that serve just a few kids instead of all kids,” Winstead said.</p><p>Winstead’s suburban school system should be fine. Maryville City Schools, near Knoxville, is one of the state’s highest-achieving districts and stands to benefit if Tennessee’s revamped grading formula puts more weight on proficiency. But Winstead philosophically disagrees with the approach that the state appears to be taking.</p><p>“This is going to demoralize a lot of school communities,” he said, “teachers, kids, and parents — folks who have done incredible things to move kids forward.”</p><p><em>Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at </em><a href="mailto:maldrich@chalkbeat.org"><em>maldrich@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>. Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools. Reach Laura at </em><a href="mailto:LTestino@chalkbeat.org"><em>LTestino@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/10/26/23929492/school-ratings-a-f-letter-grades-changes/Laura Testino, Marta W. Aldrich2023-10-19T15:31:35+00:002023-10-19T15:31:35+00:00<p>Detroit school district officials are proposing to standardize the transfer process for students and families looking to switch between district schools during the school year.&nbsp;</p><p>Nikolai Vitti, superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, said the new policy <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/mi/detroit/Board.nsf/files/CWJNTW60C528/$file/Policy%20TNB42%20%20Student%20Transfer%20(In-District)%20%20-%20edit%20uploaded%20for%20101723%20PCM.pdf">guidance</a> would help address possible disruptions to classroom learning if students consider leaving a school in the middle of the year, either because they are moving or dissatisfied with their current school.&nbsp;</p><p>“What we’re trying to do is just create better guidelines overall to encourage families to transfer students at the beginning of quarters and beginning of semesters,” Vitti said at a DPSCD school board policy committee meeting Tuesday. “This will help teachers with just managing their classrooms. It’ll help principals and administrators create the right climate and culture.”</p><p>He added: “It doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t let students come and transfer at certain times if they’re new to the neighborhood, or there’s something unique happening in the family.”</p><p>The policy committee agreed to advance the policy draft to the next school board meeting on Nov. 14 for a first reading by the full board. All district policies must be reviewed by the board twice before they can be voted on.</p><p>Frequent school transfers have been a <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2018/10/10/21105913/enrollment-instability-is-a-major-reason-why-schools-are-struggling-so-why-isn-t-anyone-tracking-the">recurring problem in Michigan school districts</a>, where state policy allows families to <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/mde/services/flexible-learning/options/schools-of-choice">easily switch schools during the school year</a>. Detroit families <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2018/10/2/21105905/detroit-makes-it-easy-to-switch-schools-so-parents-do-frequently">told Chalkbeat, Bridge Michigan and Outlier Media in a 2018 investigation on student mobility</a> that they <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2018/10/2/21106013/the-children-of-8b-one-classroom-31-journeys-and-the-reason-it-s-so-hard-to-fix-detroit-s-schools">moved their children</a> in part because of academic struggles, issues with school discipline, family moves, and new job opportunities.</p><p>About 11% of DPSCD students move between district schools in an average school year, according to Vitti. Roughly 30% move to different school districts.</p><p>In recent months, DPSCD officials have considered policies on administrative transfers, in which school officials initiate the move. In July, school board members approved an update to the district’s code of conduct that gives school officials <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/18/23799036/detroit-public-schools-student-discipline-suspensions-conduct">more leeway to transfer students for misbehavior</a>. The following month, the policy committee <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/22/23840601/detroit-public-schools-attendance-policy-transfer-student-chronic-absenteeism">reviewed a proposal that would let officials</a> at application schools request a student transfer to a neighborhood school if the student missed too many days and previous outreach efforts didn’t work.</p><p>The policy introduced at Tuesday’s meeting, however, is not intended to be punitive. Rather, it’s meant to improve communication with families about how and when to go through with a transfer. If it is approved, DPSCD officials would begin to notify families of the preferred transfer window via letters and phone calls. The policy does not specify how far in advance a student or their family should notify school officials about a transfer.</p><p>The policy would also not interfere with transfers to application or exam schools. Students who wish to transfer to those schools typically must do so during a specific application window.&nbsp;</p><p>The proposed language was recommended by board members ahead of Tuesday’s policy meeting. Board members Misha Stallworth West and Iris Taylor both said they had received complaints from parents that there was unclear communication about student transfers.&nbsp;</p><p>The transfer policy would overlap with the district’s current policies on school enrollment, transportation, and administrative transfers. According to those policies, students can be denied a transfer to a requested school based on enrollment capacity or program restrictions. Families are also responsible for bringing their students to and from a new school if they aren’t eligible for a school bus ride.</p><p><em>Ethan Bakuli is a reporter for Chalkbeat Detroit covering Detroit Public Schools Community District. Contact Ethan at </em><a href="mailto:ebakuli@chalkbeat.org"><em>ebakuli@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/detroit/2023/10/19/23923734/detroit-public-schools-student-transfer-policy/Ethan Bakuli, Chalkbeat2023-10-18T21:27:08+00:002023-10-18T21:27:08+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Chicago’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with the city’s public school system and statewide education policy. &nbsp;</em></p><p>Chicago Public Schools announced a new testing schedule Wednesday for the High School Admissions Test, which was canceled last week after technical problems.&nbsp;</p><p>District students will take the test next week, on either Oct. 24 or Oct. 25. The district will assign one of those dates to each eighth grader’s school, according to a CPS letter to families. Students taking the exam in Spanish, Arabic, Polish, Urdu, or simplified Chinese will test on Nov. 1.&nbsp;</p><p>Non-CPS students — whose testing window last weekend <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/10/12/23915032/chicago-public-schools-high-school-admissions-test-gocps-cancellation">was canceled</a> — can take the exam on Oct. 28, Oct. 29, or Nov. 5 at Lane Tech or Lindblom high schools, the district said. These students <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R_s_2r2JsL7y7buPiz4W2ur-EPCOq3cotk9cyEO70cc/edit">must sign up</a> for an exam date in GoCPS, the city’s admissions application system, by 9 a.m. Oct. 23.&nbsp;</p><p>The exam will not be the same one as was planned for last week, and students who were able to access the test will not see the same questions, officials said.&nbsp;</p><p>Students who were able to complete the exam will be allowed to retake the test, and their new score will be used for admissions even if it’s the lower of both tests, officials said. Students who don’t want to retake the exam must opt out by filing out <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S3bxWrf8P9zvAdo2LWSjV-e1VOG4YHKL/view">this form</a> and returning it to their school by Oct. 23. However, due to last week’s glitches, district officials “strongly recommend that students take advantage of this opportunity” to retake the exam, they said in the letter to families.&nbsp;</p><p>CPS’ roughly 24,000 eighth graders were set to take<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EI-WQsT_27xdZc0wAnQtvj1fFZPFKXYE/view"> the HSAT</a> in school on Oct. 11. The exam is part of <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/13/23871751/chicago-public-schools-application-elementary-high-school-gocps-charter-magnet-selective">admissions requirements</a> for selective enrollment high schools and for enrollment at <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tgzw8jT09Qx1u60GC_CPsO69ZqYkDzpe/view">some schools</a> outside of their neighborhood boundaries.&nbsp;</p><p>But on test day, a technical problem broke out with the testing vendor, Riverside Associates, LLC, officials said. The company later discovered that backlogged servers caused the problem, according to an <a href="https://www.cps.edu/gocps/high-school/hs-admissions-test-23-24/">FAQ on the district’s website.</a> Students were unable to log into the testing platform, and the company’s help desk could not be reached, educators told Chalkbeat. District officials instructed principals to stop exam administration for students who were unable to log in.&nbsp;</p><p>The district later <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/10/12/23915032/chicago-public-schools-high-school-admissions-test-gocps-cancellation">canceled the exam</a> for non-CPS students, who were scheduled to take it Oct. 14 and 15.&nbsp;</p><p>The company fixed the problem by “adding server capacity” and testing the system to ensure that it works, the FAQ said.</p><p>Students’ HSAT scores help determine which selective high schools they might be admitted.<em><strong>&nbsp;</strong></em>This year, students must <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/13/23871751/chicago-public-schools-application-elementary-high-school-gocps-charter-magnet-selective">submit their top choices</a> in the district’s admissions system — GoCPS — by Nov. 9, a month earlier than usual. Students were originally allowed to re-rank their choices by Nov. 22, but given the rescheduled HSAT, district officials have extended the re-rank deadline to Dec. 1.</p><p>After last week’s glitches, the district plans to be “very cautious” about the new testing plan and is “putting some strategies in place” to eliminate potential issues, said CPS Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova during a Wednesday Board of Education meeting to review the agenda for an upcoming full board meeting. Neither she nor district officials immediately elaborated on what extra steps they’ve taken to ensure the test will resume smoothly.&nbsp;</p><p>In the online FAQ, the district said that its team has “reviewed results of vendor testing to confirm preparedness for resuming the HS Admissions Test program.”</p><p>During the board meeting Wednesday, Chkoumbova apologized to families for the glitches and said she was “a little bit disappointed” by the problems, given that the district’s aim was to reduce anxiety for students. The district had shortened the test length this year to an hour, from a previous 2 ½ hours, and had offered it for the first time in Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Urdu, and Polish.</p><p>“Our team went into the testing session with a lot of assurances,” Chkoumbova said.&nbsp;“We did triple check everything, but the platform failed.”&nbsp;</p><p><em>Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/10/18/23923067/chicago-hsat-admissions-high-school-test-selective-enrollment/Reema AminFG Trade / Getty Images2023-10-17T23:02:48+00:002023-10-17T23:02:48+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with education news in Denver and around the state. &nbsp;</em></p><p>To boost the academic success of Black students, Denver Public Schools is creating a new team of administrators to find the strategies and teaching practices that are working best for Black students and spread them throughout the district.</p><p>Tuesday’s announcement of the new initiative, called the Black Student Success team, comes 4½ years after the Denver school board <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2019/2/22/21106875/black-student-excellence-denver-school-board-directs-district-to-better-serve-black-students">passed a Black Excellence Resolution</a>. The resolution required each DPS school to develop a plan to boost Black student success, but some schools have <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/2/18/22290053/denver-public-schools-black-excellence-plans">struggled to put those plans into place</a>.</p><p>“This is building upon the Black Excellence Resolution,” Joe Amundsen, the executive director of universal school support for DPS, said in an interview. “The Black Student Success team is going to take that planning and really highlight what’s working across those schools to elevate practices districtwide that are leading to results.”</p><p>The team will be led by Michael Atkins, who is currently principal of Stedman Elementary School in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood. Atkins was a DPS student during <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/1/16/23552379/denver-public-schools-integration-desegregation-busing-wilfred-keyes-case-stedman-elementary">the era of busing to integrate Denver’s schools</a>. He said he remembers how he was treated differently as a Black student, including the time a teacher muttered, “Here come the bus kids.”</p><p>“When I truly began to understand that I was treated differently than the neighborhood kids, I grew to hate school,” Atkins said in an interview.</p><p>“And my whole push, whether it’s leading Stedman Elementary or whether its leading this team of Black Student Success, is to ensure that the babies that look like me that enter into our school system, that I’m doing my part to change the system in a way that is going to illuminate their identities and dreams,” he said.</p><p>About 14% of Denver’s 89,000 students are Black, and data shows the district is not serving them as well as it’s serving white students. For example, 73% of white students in grades three through eight met or exceeded expectations on state literacy tests this past spring, compared with 27% of Black students, according to state data. That’s a 46-percentage-point gap.</p><p>The graduation rate for Black students in the DPS class of 2022 was 73%, compared with 86% for white students, a 13-point gap, state data shows.</p><p>“We know that our Black students can and do achieve at high levels, especially when they have the opportunities and support needed to excel,” DPS Superintendent Alex Marrero said in a press release. “After taking a deep dive into the most recent state test scores, we determined that we need to improve our systems of instruction and support in order to accelerate the trajectory of success for our Black students.”&nbsp;</p><p>Amundsen said DPS has been working with a team of researchers at the University of Denver, who have already completed the first phase of their research: identifying district-level practices to accelerate the academic trajectory for Black students, such as ensuring that students have access to rigorous courses and are being taught by experienced teachers.</p><p>For the next phase, DU researchers will go into DPS classrooms where Black students are making progress faster than their peers around the state, as measured by standardized test scores, to figure out what specific actions those teachers are taking, Amundsen said.</p><p>Meanwhile, Atkins said he and his team will be working with a small cohort of six to 10 DPS schools with a “focus on bringing academics alive for our Black students in those schools.”</p><p>Atkins will leave Stedman Elementary to assume his new role in January. The district said it is planning later this year to create a similar student success team for Latino and Hispanic students, who make up about 52% of DPS students.</p><p><em>Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at </em><a href="mailto:masmar@chalkbeat.org"><em>masmar@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/10/17/23921708/black-student-success-team-denver-public-schools-michael-atkins-black-excellence/Melanie Asmar2023-10-17T16:30:00+00:002023-10-17T16:30:00+00:00<p><em>This episode is part of a collaboration between </em><a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/"><em>Chalkbeat</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.bellvoices.org/"><em>The Bell</em></a><em>, an audio journalism program for New York City students. It also</em><a href="https://www.bellvoices.org/season1/2023/7/1/missing-voices-part-4-where-do-we-go-from-here-akd4m"><em> aired on&nbsp;The Bell’</em>s<em>&nbsp;Miseducation podcast&nbsp;</em></a><em>on Oct. 17.</em></p><p>The threat came in an e-mailed letter from the principal to the entire student body: Stop following the anonymous Instagram accounts, or face suspension.</p><p>When Principal David Marmor of Francis Lewis High School in Queens discovered two accounts — one which posted fight videos and the other which included vulgar content that in some cases targeted specific students — he didn’t hesitate to act.</p><p>In addition to threatening suspension, he promised to cancel all “celebratory events” such as pep rallies until the accounts were deleted or lost all their followers — a dramatic step that raised questions about the line between students’ free speech online and punishable behavior.&nbsp;</p><p>First <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/15/23875744/francis-lewis-high-school-instagram-suspension-social-media-david-marmor">reported</a> by Chalkbeat, the case immediately caught the attention of students in the Bell’s New York City high school audio journalism program. Social media’s impact on the lives as teens can’t be overstated. Anonymous Instagram pages that share confessions, photos, and videos about school communities have become increasingly common. Sometimes the content is harmless. Other times, it feeds into vicious bullying.&nbsp;</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/M86VfmQoar8WoTsmui18vu8HalY=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/27GTIMUYKVHV3NUPBA2P3KK5GA.jpg" alt="The Bell’s Shoaa Khan (left) and Jose Santana (right)." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>The Bell’s Shoaa Khan (left) and Jose Santana (right).</figcaption></figure><p>The Bell’s Shoaa Khan and Jose Santana called up Chalkbeat’s Alex Zimmerman to break down what happened at Francis Lewis and discuss the broader implications of Marmor’s actions. Should schools be allowed to regulate students’ social media use? If so, did this principal go too far?&nbsp;</p><p><em>This episode was hosted by Shoaa Khan, a high school senior from Manhattan, and Jose Santana, a high school senior from the Bronx.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2023/10/17/23920558/teens-social-media-instagram-cyberbullying-free-speech-nyc-school-discipline/Shoaa Khan, The Bell, Jose Santana, The Bell2023-10-12T20:23:13+00:002023-10-12T20:23:13+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/national"><em>Chalkbeat’s free weekly newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with how education is changing across the U.S. &nbsp;</em></p><p>KIPP, the country’s <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2019/7/31/21121010/25-years-in-kipp-is-planning-further-expansion-and-trying-to-turn-its-alumni-into-a-political-force">largest charter school network</a>, touts its commitment to getting students to and through college, so a <a href="https://www.mathematica.org/publications/long-term-impacts-of-kipp-middle-and-high-schools-on-college-enrollment-persistence-and-attainment">recent study</a> offered a compelling test of its model.&nbsp;</p><p>Researchers compared students who won a random lottery to attend a KIPP middle school versus others who lost the lottery. The result: Both groups earned college degrees at similar rates: 22%. “KIPP middle schools had little to no impact on four-year degree completion rates,” researchers with the company Mathematica concluded.</p><p>But the story did not end there. Researchers then examined a subset of those students who also attended a KIPP high school. Although this was not based on a random lottery, these results were encouraging. Attending a KIPP middle and high school dramatically boosted students’ chances of entering and completing college.</p><p>This result was emphasized by <a href="https://www.kipp.org/events-press/mathematica-study-on-kipp-public-schools-long-term-impact/">KIPP officials</a> and in news coverage of the study when it was released last month.</p><p>Put together, though, the findings offer a complex verdict for KIPP charter schools. The results for middle and high school combined are promising, and KIPP already has a track record of boosting <a href="https://mathematica.org/publications/understanding-the-effect-of-kipp-as-it-scales-volume-i-impacts-on-achievement-and-other-outcomes">student learning</a>. But the less-encouraging middle-school-only results apply to a broader group of students and are more methodologically robust because they are based on a lottery.</p><p>That has some experts saying that more research is needed before firm conclusions about KIPP are made.</p><p>“This is suggestive evidence,” said Jon Baron, president for the Coalition for Evidence Based Policy, referring to the middle and high school results. “This really needs to be tested in further study before being accepted.” (Baron was previously an official at Arnold Ventures, the philanthropy that funded this research.)</p><p>The study examined over 2,000 students who applied to attend one of 21 KIPP middle schools in 2008, 2009, or 2011. Researchers tracked and compared lottery winners versus losers for the next decade plus.</p><p>Prior <a href="https://mathematica.org/publications/understanding-the-effect-of-kipp-as-it-scales-volume-i-impacts-on-achievement-and-other-outcomes">research</a> has found that KIPP improves test scores, but this new study showed limited longer-term benefits from attending a KIPP middle school. While there was some hint that students were more likely to enroll in college, they persisted and graduated college at similar rates as students who lost a KIPP lottery. This was the study’s “primary analysis.”</p><p>But then the Mathematica researchers undertook a further “exploratory analysis.” This is researchers’ way of saying that they are a bit less confident in these findings. Here, the study used an approach that is rigorous, but not based on a random lottery. (Nevertheless, a number of news outlets and commentators inaccurately described these exploratory findings as lottery-based.)</p><p>This secondary analysis focused on a smaller group of KIPP middle school students who also attended a KIPP high school. Those students appeared to benefit quite a lot from the longer KIPP experience: 39% of them earned a four-year college degree, compared to 20% of a comparison group.&nbsp;</p><p>These results, which were distributed to reporters last month ahead of the release of the study, were touted by KIPP leaders.</p><p>“The Mathematica study shows that a continuous KIPP education, spanning middle school and high school, is life-changing and would essentially close the educational-opportunity gaps facing Black and Latinx students,” said KIPP foundation CEO Shavar Jeffries in a statement.</p><p>Mathematica researchers say the gains may be due to the focus of KIPP high schools in getting its students into college. “It is possible that this large effect results from combining the well-established benefits of attending a KIPP middle school (a substantial boost to students’ academic achievement) with the strong emphasis on college-related supports found in KIPP high schools,” the study says.</p><p>The two findings create something of a puzzle, though: the group of KIPP middle and high school students who saw big gains in college completion were a subset of the larger group of middle school students who did not experience any improvements. And yet the overall effect on college completion for middle school was estimated to be close to zero. This is possible because the middle and high school group was a small subset of the whole sample, said Ira Nichols-Barrer, one of the Mathematica researchers.</p><p>He said that further research would help explain the disconnect between the study’s two big findings. “Our hope is that this is not the last phase of this study,” he said.</p><p><em>Matt Barnum is interim national editor, overseeing and contributing to Chalkbeat’s coverage of national education issues. Contact him at mbarnum@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/10/12/23914799/kipp-research-study-middle-high-school-graduation-college/Matt Barnum2023-10-12T18:25:42+00:002023-10-12T16:41:41+00:00<p>A rising share of Chicago Public Schools students enrolled in college in recent years, and far more are earning degrees or certificates at two-year colleges.&nbsp;</p><p>That’s according to a study released Thursday by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research and the To &amp; Through Project, which tracks college enrollment. Additionally, the study found that more Chicago students than ever are projected to pursue and complete college over the next decade.&nbsp;</p><p>The study’s findings run counter to national trends of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/skipping-college-student-loans-trade-jobs-efc1f6d6067ab770f6e512b3f7719cc0">sagging college enrollment</a> during the pandemic; <a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/researchcenter/viz/CTEE_Fall2022_Report/CTEEFalldashboard">nationwide enrollment in two- and four-year colleges</a> fell by .6% from 2021 to 2022, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Many young people across the nation are questioning whether higher education is worth the cost, said Jenny Nagaoka, one of the study’s authors and deputy director of the Consortium on School Research.&nbsp;</p><p>Higher education is “tremendously expensive, student debt is a huge issue [and] ultimately for a lot of students they’re unclear if the payoffs will be there,” Nagaoka said. “But CPS students are still going to college. They’re still seeing there’s value in it.”</p><p>Research shows that a college education can lead to better salary-earning potential, provide better access to high-quality housing, and contribute to better overall health, according to a review of literature by <a href="https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health/literature-summaries/enrollment-higher-education">Healthy People 2030</a>, a federal government-led project that tracks health data.&nbsp;</p><p>“We are hearing so much discouraging news about achievement in our schools right now, and this is not to say that’s not real, but I think it’s really important to note that at the same time, we’re actually also seeing increases in attainment,” Nagaoka said.</p><p>The study used a measure called the Post-Secondary Attainment Index, or PAI, to project college enrollment and completion based on current high school graduation and college enrollment and completion rates. Researchers calculated graduation rates slightly differently from the district, which is why they’ve come up with an 84-percent graduation rate for 2022 versus 82.9% reported by CPS. (The authors emphasized that the index is not meant to be a prediction; rather, it is a “starting place” to understand how to improve current patterns.)</p><p>This year the index is 30%, meaning that if CPS graduation and college enrollment and completion rates remained the same over the next decade, 30 out of 100 current ninth graders would earn a college credential by the time they are 25, researchers project. That is a 2.4 percentage point increase over last year and the highest rate on record since researchers began calculating this index in 2013. At that time, the index was 23%.&nbsp;</p><p>This year’s ninth graders were in middle school when the pandemic shuttered school buildings.</p><p>Nagaoka said they’re “cautiously optimistic” that these trends won’t reverse in the future, since this year’s record-setting data reflects students who were in high school and college during the pandemic. &nbsp;</p><p>But the study also found significant racial disparities within the data. For example, 66% percent of Asian American women would earn a college credential over the next decade according to the PAI, but just 13.6% of Black men would do the same.&nbsp;</p><p>During an event Thursday announcing the study’s findings, CPS Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova acknowledged that the district has more to do to close racial disparities.&nbsp;</p><p>“With these groups, especially at the high school level, we’ve learned that one of the most impactful ways we can provide support is by establishing partnerships that will provide mentorship and guidance to the students throughout their high school experience,” she said.</p><p>The researchers also studied college enrollment data from 2022 and college completion data from 2021, based on data that was available. Some highlights included:</p><ul><li>60.8% of CPS students who graduated in 2022 immediately enrolled in two-year or four-year colleges, 1.5 percentage points higher than the class of 2021. </li><li>There are stark racial disparities in who pursued college upon graduation in 2022. For example, nearly 80% of white women immediately enrolled in college upon graduation, while just 45% of Black male students did the same. </li><li>Just over 53% of English learners immediately pursued college after graduating last year, compared with 68% of former English learners. </li><li>For the class of 2015, nearly 56% of students who immediately enrolled in a four-year college and roughly one-third of students who immediately enrolled in a two-year college eventually earned a bachelor’s or associate degree, or earned a certificate by 2021. </li><li>For those who did not immediately enroll in college in 2015, roughly 3% earned a bachelor’s degree within six years. Another 5% completed an associate degree or certificate. While those rates are on the rise, they are 1.7 percentage points smaller than similar completion rates for the class of 2009.  </li><li>The percentage of students who earned some sort of college credential after enrolling in four-year schools dipped by .6% between the graduating classes of 2014 and 2015. </li></ul><p>Chkoumbova attributed the gains to various efforts across district schools to keep students interested in school and prepared for the future, including more career and technical education and dual-credit programs. She also pointed to the district’s work on how it disciplines students. Rather than suspending students, schools are using restorative practices to keep them connected and in class.</p><p>A district spokesperson pointed to a host of other programs, such as a new pilot initiative that <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/29/23776883/chicago-schools-nonprofits-help-disconnected-youth">aims to re-engage young people</a> who are no longer in school or working. The spokesperson also pointed to efforts to get students interested in college and staying there. That includes the Direct Admissions Initiative, which tells seniors whether they can get into a select list of colleges, and another program that provides students with support and mentorship in the two years after they graduate from high school.&nbsp;</p><p>Nagaoka also highlighted the increase of 5.6 percentage points in the two-year college completion rate for class of 2015 graduates, the largest increase by far over at least the past six years.&nbsp;</p><p>That increase, researchers and Chkoumbova noted, coincides with the onset of Chicago’s STAR Scholarship, which former Mayor Rahm Emanuel <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/cps-grads-high-school-graduates-chicago-public-schools/332144/">announced in the fall of 2014</a> and offers free tuition to City Colleges for any CPS student with at least a 3.0 grade point average by high school graduation.&nbsp;</p><p>Chicago’s college enrollment rates beat national figures for high-poverty schools by about 11 percentage points, researchers found. Nagaoka attributed this in part to efforts by counselors, nonprofits, and others who work in schools to ensure students know about their college options.&nbsp;</p><p>More specifically, <a href="https://www.cps.edu/academics/graduation-requirements/">CPS requires students to create a post-secondary plan</a>, or “evidence of a plan for life beyond high school,” in order to graduate from high school. That requirement forces students to have a conversation about what’s next, she said.</p><p>Ninety-seven percent of seniors in the class of 2022 submitted a post-secondary plan, a district spokesperson said.</p><p><em>Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/10/12/23914495/chicago-public-schools-college-enrollment-completion-graduation/Reema Amin2023-10-11T21:43:28+00:002023-10-11T16:15:22+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Chicago’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with the city’s public school system and statewide education policy.</em></p><p>Chicago Public Schools paused the High School Admissions Test that was underway Wednesday morning due to technical problems on the testing platform, officials told principals.&nbsp;</p><p>“For any students currently testing successfully, they can continue and complete,” Peter Leonard, executive director of student assessment for CPS, wrote in an email to principals. “In any other case, schools should stop testing today.”</p><p>Students <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EI-WQsT_27xdZc0wAnQtvj1fFZPFKXYE/view">take the HSAT</a> as part of <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/13/23871751/chicago-public-schools-application-elementary-high-school-gocps-charter-magnet-selective">admissions requirements</a> for the city’s selective-enrollment high schools and to enroll at <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tgzw8jT09Qx1u60GC_CPsO69ZqYkDzpe/view">some schools</a> outside of their neighborhood boundaries. On Wednesday all eighth graders were set to take the exam on computers in school. This year’s exam was set to last an hour instead of the previous 2½ hours. CPS made the change in order to “reduce anxiety for students” and increase accessibility, a spokesperson said last month.&nbsp;</p><p>In his note, Leonard said students who finish the test today can use their scores as they apply for high schools in GoCPS. For students who couldn’t finish, the district will share alternative testing dates “as soon as possible,” Leonard wrote.&nbsp;</p><p>District spokesperson Samantha Hart said in a statement that the district is working with the testing vendor to resolve the technical problems. They don’t expect any changes to this weekend’s scheduled HSAT testing for non-CPS students, Hart said.&nbsp;</p><p>“We recognize the stress many students and families experience when it comes to admissions testing,” Hart wrote.</p><p>The district authorized a $1.2 million no-bid contract over the summer with Riverside Assessments LLC to provide test materials for high school admissions and other placements, including gifted programs.&nbsp;</p><p>At one North Side school, students received error messages as they tried to log in to the testing platform, even after refreshing the page, according to an administrator at the school, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press. The school’s testing coordinator tried to call a help desk for the testing vendor but got a busy signal.&nbsp;</p><p>Similar problems cropped up at Brentano Elementary Math and Science Academy in Logan Square, said the school’s principal, Seth Lavin.</p><p>“They came in anxious and focused, and then they sat down, and for about an hour and a half, proctors tried to log kids into the test and they could not — and nobody knew what was going on,” Lavin said.&nbsp;</p><p>By the time CPS notified schools at 10:30 a.m. that it would pause the test, a handful of students were able to complete the exam at both Brentano and the North Side school.&nbsp;</p><p>Other students at the North Side school were finally able to log in by that time, the administrator said. But there were other issues. Some students saw words in Spanish pop up and had to ask teachers to translate, the administrator said. This is the first year the test is being offered in Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Urdu, and Polish.</p><p>The North Side administrator called the glitches a “gross oversight” by the district, and said that it should have ensured that the system could handle tens of thousands of students taking the exam on the same day. CPS enrolled nearly 24,000 eighth graders this year, district data shows.&nbsp;</p><p>The administrator said all students — not just those who weren’t able to complete the exam — should be allowed to retake the test, since the process was so stressful. Students were already “very anxious” about the HSAT, this person said.&nbsp;</p><p>Asked about the testing issues at an unrelated press conference Wednesday, Mayor Brandon Johnson said the public school system should “not reject the hopes and aspirations and desires” of families — Black families, in particular.</p><p>“The ultimate desire is to actually build a school system that no matter where you are in the city of Chicago, that you have access to a high quality education,” he said. “I’m committed to doing just that.”</p><p>Lavin, who has criticized the district’s selective-enrollment system for being inequitable, said Wednesday’s problems underscore that the admissions system “is so fragile and arbitrary.” The exam accounts for 50% of the admissions rubric for selective-enrollment high schools.&nbsp;</p><p>“Kids who are 13 years old should not have a 60-minute experience that decides so much about the next four years of their life,” Lavin said.&nbsp;</p><p>He added, “If we are going to let some kids into some high schools and not let some kids into some high schools, we have to find a better way to do it than this.”&nbsp;</p><p><em>Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at </em><a href="mailto:ramin@chalkbeat.org"><em>ramin@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/10/11/23912938/chicago-schools-high-school-admissions-hsat-technical-problems/Reema Amin2023-10-04T23:37:34+00:002023-10-04T23:37:34+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with NYC’s public schools.</em></p><p>Roughly half of New York City’s third through eighth graders<a href="https://infohub.nyced.org/reports/academics/test-results"> were proficient in reading and math</a>, according to last year’s state test scores released by city officials Wednesday.</p><p>The scores provide a first look at student performance under new learning standards, after state officials revamped the tests for the most recent academic year. The tests, administered by schools across the state each spring, offer one measure of how students are faring.</p><p>Though 51.7% of the city’s third through eighth grade students&nbsp;were considered on grade level based on their reading exam scores, and 49.9% were on grade level for math, student performances diverged across grades.&nbsp;</p><p>Eighth grade students, for example, fared worse on math exams — with just 42.3% achieving proficiency, compared to 55% of third graders.</p><p>On reading tests, the opposite occurred, with 59.9% of eighth graders considered on grade level, compared to about 48% of third graders.</p><p>In a statement Wednesday, schools Chancellor David Banks called the results “encouraging,” pointing to an “upward trajectory” from <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/9/28/23377074/nyc-test-scores-math-reading-david-banks-pandemic">last year’s exams</a>, which saw roughly 49% of students pass reading tests and about 38% achieve proficiency in math.</p><p>“These results tell us: we’re on the right track,” he said. “We are making strides in our recovery from the pandemic, and we are going to build on this success this year and beyond.”</p><p>But state officials have <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/13/23872580/new-york-state-test-scores-delay">warned against comparing the data to prior years</a>, and the city’s Education Department acknowledged the results were not “directly comparable” in a press release Wednesday.</p><p>This past spring, students took new exams that followed the Next Generation Learning Standards, which were established after revisions from the controversial Common Core. The state also established new thresholds to measure student proficiency, which <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/18/23799637/new-york-state-tests-reading-math-scores-academic-intervention-services">delayed public release of the test scores</a>.</p><p>David Bloomfield, a professor of educational leadership, law, and policy at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, called the city’s framing of the results “nonsensical.”</p><p>“They need to go back to math class,” he said in an email. “Lack of comparability means this snapshot can’t be put into historical perspective.”</p><p>But even as the exams have changed, disparities continue to appear among student results.</p><p>About 77.6% of Asian American students and 70.2% of white students demonstrated proficiency their math exams, compared to 34.3% of students who are Black and 35.7% who are Latino. On reading tests, 72.3% of Asian American students and 69.5% of white students were on grade level, compared to 40.3% of Black students and 39.4% of Latino students.</p><p>Among students with disabilities, 21.7% demonstrated proficiency in reading and 24.4% did so in math. Among students learning English as a new language, 11.1% were on grade level in reading and 21.5% were in math.</p><p>Want to see how your school fared on the state exams? Use our searchable database below:</p><p><em>Julian Shen-Berro is a reporter covering New York City. Contact him at jshen-berro@chalkbeat.org</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2023/10/4/23904023/nyc-test-scores-state-exam-math-reading-disparities/Julian Shen-Berro2023-10-02T10:00:00+00:002023-10-02T10:00:00+00:00<p>Grace Ward spent four years in foster care before enrolling at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2021. On campus, 200 miles south of her hometown of Rockford, she felt alone.</p><p>Before Ward entered care, she had missed three years of school and had briefly lived in homeless shelters with her mother. In her foster home, she was expected to prioritize chores over homework, babysit younger children, and call the police if a child was having a mental breakdown, she said.&nbsp;</p><p>A few months before coming to the university, she had a violent disagreement that involved her foster parent, leading Ward to end that relationship and head to school without knowing anyone well on campus.&nbsp;</p><p>“You kind of have to figure out and navigate for yourself now,” Ward said. “How do you find comfort in your life?”</p><p>Now a junior studying animal sciences, Ward has taken up a new role: peer advocate for youth on campus who have experienced foster care. The new gig, she hopes, will create the support system for others that she craved as a freshman.</p><p>Ward has joined the state’s new Youth in Care - College Advocate Program, or Y-CAP, which pairs peer advocates like Ward with other college students who have experienced foster care. The goal is for the advocates to check-in regularly with their mentees, help them navigate college life, and ultimately create a support system they’re missing.</p><p>A <a href="https://www.chapinhall.org/wp-content/uploads/Foster-Care-in-Community-College.pdf">2021 study</a> found that of Illinois youth in foster care who turned 17 between 2012 and 2018, 86% enrolled in community college. Of those, just 8% graduated, according to the study conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. Students told researchers that they felt alone, largely weren’t aware of financial aid options, and that they needed more specialized attention.&nbsp;</p><p>As for what would help them, some interviewees said they wanted someone to help monitor their academic progress. Others said they wanted a support group, the study said.&nbsp;</p><p>“Young people with a background in foster care on college campuses are not getting the supports they need to be successful,” said Amy Dworsky, a senior research fellow at Chapin Hall at University of Chicago who co-authored the study and helped the state create the advocate program.</p><p>The state’s Department of Children and Family Services, or DCFS, launched the $200,000 program this year after its youth advisory board signaled that college-bound foster youth needed more support on campus, said Chevelle Bailey, deputy director of DCFS’s office of education and transition services. Some colleges have similar mentorship programs, but “there’s no consistency” across all Illinois campuses, Bailey said.&nbsp;</p><p>The program has launched one year after <a href="https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=102-0083">a new state law went into effect</a> requiring each Illinois college to have a liaison that is charged with connecting students who are in foster care or are homeless with resources and assistance.&nbsp;</p><p>Department officials want colleges to be more “foster-friendly,” Bailey said, noting that foster youth need extra support in a new environment like college. These youth are <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/foster-care/index.html">at higher risk of dropping out of school</a>, according to the U.S. Department of Education. In Chicago, which houses the most foster youth of any jurisdiction, <a href="https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/district.aspx?source=trends&amp;source2=graduationrate&amp;Districtid=15016299025">40% graduated on time from the city’s public schools</a> last year, compared with 83% of all CPS students, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.&nbsp;</p><p>DCFS contracted with Foster Progress — an advocacy organization for foster youth that runs its own high school mentorship program — to oversee YCAP on six college campuses this year. That includes University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Chicago, Northern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, Harold Washington College, and Kishwaukee College.&nbsp;</p><p>“One reason we started small is to make sure we do this right and not take on too much we can’t handle,” Kim Peck, DCFS’ downstate education and transition services administrator.&nbsp;</p><p>Nearly 20,000 Illinois children were in foster care as of last month, <a href="https://dcfs.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dcfs/documents/about-us/reports-and-statistics/documents/youth-in-care-by-county.pdf">according to DCFS data.</a> These youth have likely experienced abuse or neglect that led them into the system, and often <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byEa68NU0B0">cycle through multiple foster homes</a> before they age out of care at 21.&nbsp;</p><p>So far, Foster Progress has hired three advocates on Ward’s campus, and they’ve identified four mentees, said LT Officer-McIntosh, program manager for Foster Progress. She’s expecting to hire a total of 10 peer advocates, who are paid $15 an hour, to support up to 100 mentees across all the campuses.&nbsp;</p><p>There are three parts to the mentor-mentee relationship, Officer-McIntosh said.&nbsp;</p><p>Advocates are supposed to hold regular check-ins, where they’ll track goals for what the mentee would like out of the experience and will also navigate college questions and deadlines, such as for financial aid.&nbsp;</p><p>Peer advocates and mentees will also pick a short group training they want, such as on resume building, and volunteer together so that they feel more rooted in the surrounding community.</p><p>Beyond this framework, program leaders want peer advocates and their mentees to figure out a support system that works best for them.&nbsp;</p><p>“Our goal with YCAP is to not tell them, ‘This is how you build community from our perspective,’” Officer-McIntosh said. “It needs to be rooted in the things that they identify, that they want out of a campus community and the experience in YCAP.”</p><p>Ward wants to help mentees with whatever they need to grow, whether that means being “a shoulder to lean on” or just instructions for how to do laundry.&nbsp;</p><p>Sometimes when she walks around campus, Ward thinks about how different her life is now. She wants her mentees to similarly feel like they have a “safe space” that doesn’t involve talking about required paperwork or upcoming court dates, if they don’t want to.</p><p>“It’s not something to be like, ‘You’re a foster youth,’ Ward said. “It is something to be like, ‘You have gone through challenges in your life; this is a time to ease those challenges, so you don’t constantly struggle and feel like you’re struggling.’”&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Correction:&nbsp;</strong><em>Oct. 2, 2023: A previous version of this story said a 2021 study was conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago. The study was conducted by researchers at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. </em></p><p><em>Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/10/2/23893212/foster-care-advocates-illinois-colleges-academics-community-support/Reema Amin2023-09-29T02:30:03+00:002023-09-29T02:30:03+00:00<p>Chicago Public Schools facilities need $3.1 billion in “critical” repairs that must be addressed in the next five years, according to a district plan released Thursday.</p><p>The cost is part of a total of $14.4 billion in updates that the district identified in its <a href="https://www.cps.edu/sites/five-year-plan/educational-facilities-master-plan/">Facilities Master Plan</a>, which CPS is required by state law to produce every five years.&nbsp;</p><p>“In a district as large as ours, and with a building portfolio as old as ours, this is the investment it would take to repair and modernize each and every one of our current facilities and give our students the learning environment we know they deserve,” CEO Pedro Martinez wrote in the plan’s introduction.&nbsp;</p><p>The $3.1 billion in costs identified as the most urgent work includes repairs to windows, roofs, masonry, and heating and cooling systems. Another $5.5 billion would go toward repairs in the next six to 10 years, according to the facilities plan. Beyond that, the district wants money to build labs “to support STEM education,” accommodations for students with disabilities, new auditoriums, new fields for sports, and classrooms “outfitted” for career and technical education —&nbsp;programming that Martinez <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/19/23311772/chicago-public-schools-career-technical-education-cte">wants to expand</a>, according to the plan.&nbsp;</p><p>The district released the plan during Thursday’s Board of Education meeting, which was held in the auditorium of Austin Career and College Academy High School on the West Side and drew at least 200 observers. The changed location was the board’s attempt to address the longstanding criticism that the meetings, which are typically held during the day downtown, are inaccessible for many families and teachers who work during the day. (The last meeting held outside of district headquarters was in 2019, according to a district spokesperson.)&nbsp;</p><p>District officials said this summer that <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/13/23759818/chicago-public-schools-fy24-budget-education">they had budgeted $155 million for facilities</a> projects this fiscal year — roughly $600 million less than the previous year — and planned to ask for more capital funding this year.&nbsp;</p><p>Martinez used the plan to make another plea for more funding and “partnerships” from the city, state, and federal government. Martinez plans to press the state for more money as a way to address costs once COVID relief dollars run out in 2024.&nbsp;</p><p>“This plan will take coalitions and partnerships with our fellow officials at the city, state, and federal levels,” he wrote in his introduction to the plan. “It will take administrators, teachers, parents, students, and advocates pushing for the changes we need.”</p><p>Martinez said the facilities plan is a “critical” early part of its process to create a five-year strategic plan for CPS. That plan — which will build on Martinez’s <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/24/23320648/chicago-public-schools-pedro-martinez-blueprint-pandemic-recovery">three-year blueprint</a> released last year to help the district recover from the pandemic — will be finalized next summer.&nbsp;</p><p>The district will also launch an advisory team that would make recommendations to Martinez on how to narrow academic disparities of Black students compared to their peers. Those recommendations would also inform a “Black Student Success Plan” and be part of the strategic plan, according to CPS.</p><p>Some advocates, however, immediately rejected that idea Thursday night. They had previously pressed officials to create a Board of Education committee that focused on Black student achievement.&nbsp;</p><p>“To have a strategic plan is not enough to say, ‘Oh, we hear you,’” said Valerie Leonard, a longtime West Side education advocate and the co-founder of Illinois African Americans For Equitable Redistricting. “I want to know that you see me; I want to know there is some action. At what point will Black children be prioritized?”</p><p>District officials are asking for community feedback as they develop the strategic plan. The public meetings to gather that input will be on:</p><ul><li>6-7:30 p.m. October 17 at Kelvyn Park High School, 4343 W. Wrightwood Ave. </li><li>6 - 7:30 p.m. October 18 at Westinghouse College Prep, 3223 W. Franklin Blvd. </li><li>10 a.m. - noon October 21, virtual meeting </li><li>6 - 7 p.m. October 23,  Little Village high school campus, 3120 S. Kostner Ave. </li><li>6 - 7:30 p.m. Julian High School, 10330 S. Elizabeth St. </li></ul><p>Those wishing to attend should <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfeMreNhJF_PoAnm3Xa1lxe_fCFxcbdYvLOofgxXAfie2uE1A/viewform">register here</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>The facilities plan includes information like enrollment trends to highlight the district’s needs. District officials offered more analysis Thursday of enrollment this year.</p><h2>Chicago Public Schools enrollment grows by nearly 1,200</h2><p>Preliminary data on the 20th day of school —&nbsp;when district officials tally up students for the year — indicated that enrollment, at just over 322,500 students, is essentially flat compared to last year, <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/19/23881541/chicago-public-schools-enrollment-2023-increase-migrants">Chalkbeat reported last week</a>. On Thursday, officials revealed that 323,291 students were enrolled, or nearly 1,200 more students than last year.&nbsp;</p><p>It’s the first time since 2011 that the district’s enrollment has not dipped. Since that year, enrollment declines were driven by several factors, including population changes and dipping birth rates. Last year’s decline cost CPS’ title as the <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/9/28/23377565/chicago-school-enrollment-miami-dade-third-largest">nation’s third largest school district.</a>&nbsp;</p><p>The small enrollment bump was due to fewer students leaving and more new students, including a 7% increase in preschool students, officials said. Additionally, the number of students living in temporary housing increased by 47%, which could be one sign of an increase in migrant students who are living in shelters or other temporary circumstances.&nbsp;</p><p>The district does not track students’ immigration status. But another sign that the population of newly enrolled migrant students is growing is the increasing number of English language learners. About 7,800 more English learners enrolled this year than last year, officials said. CPS typically enrolls an average of 3,000 new English learners a year.&nbsp;</p><p>English language learners now make up nearly a quarter of the district’s students, up from 22% last year, according to Chalkbeat’s analysis.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.&nbsp;</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/9/28/23895264/chicago-schools-repairs-buildings-facilities-plan-career-technical-education-classrooms/Reema Amin2023-09-28T11:00:00+00:002023-09-28T11:00:00+00:00<p><em>Sign up for&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/national"><em>Chalkbeat’s free weekly newsletter</em></a><em>&nbsp;to get essential education news delivered to your inbox.</em></p><p>Last year, Santa Fe schools put in a lot of work to try to get students to show up to school consistently. It was a priority after chronic absenteeism doubled during the 2021-22 school year, compared to before the pandemic.</p><p>The New Mexico district hired two additional attendance coaches, for a total of five, to help every school form a team focused on boosting attendance. Those staffers got extra pay and training. And schools used COVID relief funds to reward students who improved their attendance with incentives like a pop-up science exhibit hosted by a local children’s museum.</p><p>But despite those efforts, the share of students who missed 10% or more of their school year, the threshold New Mexico and <a href="https://www.attendanceworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Attendance-Works-Policy-Brief-2023_072723.pdf">most other states</a> use to define chronic absenteeism, didn’t budge. Just over half were chronically absent — the same as the prior year.</p><p>“We know we still have work to do,” said Crystal Ybarra, the district’s chief equity, diversity, and engagement officer, who is overseeing the attendance initiative. “We’re still trying to figure out the steps post-pandemic. Everybody wants to see a quick fix, and that’s just not how initiatives work.”</p><p>What happened in Santa Fe highlights multiple challenges schools nationwide are encountering as they try to drive down stubbornly high absence rates. Students’ mindsets about attending school in person every day have shifted, staff say. Families are more likely to keep sick kids home. In some places, more families are experiencing economic hardships and housing instability.</p><p>Emerging state data, compiled by Chalkbeat, suggests that the stunning rise in students missing school did not come close to returning to pre-pandemic levels last school year.</p><p>Chronic absenteeism worsened in at least 40 states during the 2021-22 school year, <a href="https://projects.apnews.com/features/2023/missing-students-chronic-absenteeism/index.html">according to data</a> compiled by Thomas Dee, a Stanford University education professor, in partnership with the Associated Press. The needle hasn’t moved much in the handful of states that have released data for last school year so far.</p><p>In New Mexico, for example, chronic absenteeism shot up to 40% two school years ago and remained at 39% last year, compared to 18% the year before the pandemic. Similar trends have emerged in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Virginia.</p><p>“The consequences of kids being sporadically in school and not fully engaging take a while to really shift,” said Hedy Chang, the executive director of Attendance Works, a nonprofit that focuses on raising school attendance. “It’s definitely not something that happens overnight, and may take longer than we would like.”</p><p><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/11/rsv-covid-flu-cases-winter-2022/">Illnesses other than COVID, such as RSV</a>, as well as confusion over when to send sick children to school, likely played a role, school staff and attendance experts said. Many families got in the habit of keeping kids home if they had any symptom of illness. When Los Angeles Unified school officials talked with 9,000 families last year as part of an effort to reduce chronic absenteeism, non-COVID illness was <a href="https://laist.com/news/education/lausd-attendance-2023-absenteeism">one of the three major themes that came up</a>.</p><p>“We went from this place of requiring students to be out for certain symptoms that they might have in the 2021-22 school year,” Ybarra said, “to trying to navigate what was appropriate and what wasn’t this past school year.”</p><p>Elevated mental health struggles also likely contributed. Some students feel a lingering disconnect from their school and peers. <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/17/23099461/school-refusal-nyc-schools-students-anxiety-depression-chronic-absenteeism">School refusal seems to have intensified</a> following the pandemic, some parents and educators say. In Santa Fe, many students who missed class or asked to transfer to the GED program last year reported feeling anxious about coming to school, Ybarra said.</p><p>Now that more schools provide devices to every student and post assignments online, <a href="https://edsource.org/2023/californias-dramatic-jump-in-chronically-absent-students-part-of-a-nationwide-surge/695439">some students have also come to believe</a> that they can take a few days off and still stay on top of their work.&nbsp;</p><p>Greg Moody, a school official in Florida’s Orange County district who oversees attendance, said the ability to do assignments remotely had contributed to a “shift in mindset” about the importance of showing up to class every day. In his district, chronic absenteeism nearly doubled from 21% the year before the pandemic to 40% in the 2021-22 school year.</p><p>Amana Levi, who helps Orange County schools address truancy issues, said parents report a variety of reasons their kids stay home. But last year she frequently heard: “Well, my child needed a day off.” Sometimes that stemmed from a mental health issue, she said, and sometimes it didn’t.</p><p>In response, Levi is hosting an online training for parents that will talk about why attendance matters — for academic and other reasons — and what parents can do if they get a letter saying their child has missed a lot of school.</p><p>“It’s important that we impress upon parents: We get it, we’re all here, we’re all experiencing similar types of things,” Levi said. But her message is: “You’ve got to come to school. We are here to help as much as we can.”</p><h2>Schools seek more input on attendance struggles</h2><p>Schools that started attendance initiatives last year that haven’t gotten the results they wanted should try to figure out why that may be, Chang of Attendance Works said. Staff can look at how many students were directly affected by such efforts, and talk with students and families about what worked and what didn’t.</p><p>In Santa Fe, Ybarra is hoping to build on some of the positive changes in school culture that she observed last year, while making adjustments to the district’s overall strategy.</p><p>Attendance coaches realized that they previously hadn’t taught many staff members to reach out to students about attendance. So this year, they trained entire schools to do it.</p><p>With the help of a $500,000 state grant, Santa Fe is sending home letters to recognize students for good attendance and remind families to return after longer school breaks. The district also hired an organization to train high school teams to watch ninth grade attendance — a challenging transition year for many teens — and will pay staff extra to make home visits to freshmen.</p><p>School staff are prioritizing chronically absent kids for evaluations to see if they need extra academic help, or support for a disability. The goal is to “try to make them more successful so they feel like they can return,” Ybarra said. In the past, those students were often overlooked.</p><p>And last month, school officials met with students from two schools struggling with attendance to listen to some of the barriers that keep them from going to school regularly and what has been helpful to get them back on track.</p><p>Students reported getting sick, lacking transportation to school, having family problems, facing mental health issues, and caring for siblings. One middle schooler pointed to the benefits of having a day to do catch-up work when they returned from a long period of absence.</p><p>“I didn’t feel so behind when I went back into the classroom,” the student told school staff.</p><p>Orange County schools tried something similar this summer by paying a dozen social workers to call the families of students who missed 20 or more days of school last year.&nbsp;</p><p>The goal was to figure out what had kept students from attending and offer support “so we could start with a fresh slate,” said Juliane Cross, a senior administrator in the district’s social services department.&nbsp;</p><p>Social workers heard many of those families were moving around a lot, struggling to afford stable housing — a common issue in the Orlando area that has <a href="https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/orlando-rent-is-still-unaffordable-for-low-income-renters-even-with-a-housing-voucher-34115760">intensified in recent years</a>. Other parents worked nights and couldn’t wake their kids up in time for class.&nbsp;</p><p>Social workers connected families to housing resources and made sure they knew about the federal program that offers help to students experiencing homelessness. It’s an initiative Cross hopes to repeat.</p><p>“Several of the parents were just like ‘Wow, thank you for calling,’ as if they were really surprised that this effort was made to just check on them and try to address that attendance situation,” she said. “They appreciated having that interaction.”</p><p><em>Kalyn Belsha is a senior national education reporter based in Chicago. Contact her at kbelsha@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/28/23893221/chronic-absenteeism-attendance-santa-fe-orlando-schools/Kalyn BelshaEmily Elconin for Chalkbeat2023-09-27T21:43:30+00:002023-09-27T21:43:30+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with education news in Denver and around the state. &nbsp;</em></p><p>Denver Public Schools students as a whole met goals the district set for math achievement but fell short in reading, according to a new report that measures academic and other progress against Superintendent Alex Marrero’s <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/7/28/23282555/denver-public-schools-strategic-plan-alex-marrero-first-look">year-old strategic plan</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>But the <a href="https://issuu.com/dpscommunications/docs/2023_roadmap_report_final_web?fr=xKAE9_zU1NQ">20-page Annual District Report</a> doesn’t break down test scores by student race and ethnicity, obscuring <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/22/23313729/denver-test-score-gaps-largest-in-colorado-literacy-math-cmas">wide and persistent gaps between white students and students of color</a> — gaps Marrero acknowledged in <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/co/dpsk12/Board.nsf/files/CW2MLQ5BC6CF/$file/Sept%202023%20BOE%20Superintendent%20Update.pdf">a presentation to school board members last week</a>.</p><p>In an interview, Marrero said he was “incredibly encouraged” by the overall results. In the cases where DPS missed its goals, it was often only by a percentage point or two. The report also highlights that the district surpassed its graduation goal, posting a four-year graduation rate of 76.5% for the class of 2022, which was the highest ever in DPS.</p><p>“We’re trending in the right direction,” said Marrero, who was <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/6/3/22517783/denver-school-board-confirms-alex-marrero-as-next-superintendent">hired as superintendent in 2021</a>. “When you’re shifting a major organization, you’re given grace for an implementation dip. Everything is new. If this is our implementation dip, good Lord, where we’re going to be.”</p><p>Some advocates have criticized the new report as spin. The higher test scores and graduation rates of white students from middle- and high-income families in DPS mask how the district is struggling to serve Black and Latinx students and students from low-income families, who make up the majority in the 89,000-student district, critics say.</p><p>“When you just release the totals, it gives a very different impression,” said Rosemary Rodriguez, co-chair of the advocacy group EDUCATE Denver and a former DPS school board member. “But when you break it down into subgroups, it’s not such a rosy picture.&nbsp;</p><p>“I think it’s important to be as honest as possible with as many people as possible so that we all can appreciate what’s going on with achievement in the district.”</p><p><a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/co/dpsk12/Board.nsf/files/CW2MLQ5BC6CF/$file/Sept%202023%20BOE%20Superintendent%20Update.pdf">A more detailed presentation</a> Marrero gave to the school board last week shows that the district mostly missed its academic targets for Black and Latinx students in both reading and math.</p><p>The lack of progress perpetuates yawning gaps between the test scores of students of color and white students in DPS, which have been the largest in the state.&nbsp;</p><p>For example, state data shows 73% of DPS white students in grades three through eight met or exceeded expectations on state literacy tests this past spring, compared to 27% of Black students and 24% of Latinx students.</p><p>Similarly, the graduation rates for Black and Latinx students were 73% and 74%, respectively, for the class of 2022, compared to 86% for white students, according to state data.</p><p>Marrero’s <a href="https://www.dpsk12.org/about/dps-thrives/">strategic plan</a>, which he released last year, listed several goals he hoped DPS would accomplish by the year 2026. The plan did not include incremental annual benchmarks. But the just-released report does, at least for last school year and this school year. The goals in the report are different from the goals the school board will use to evaluate Marrero’s performance.</p><p>Here’s a snapshot of how DPS is measuring up, based on the data in the new report and the presentation Marrero gave to the school board.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Goal:</strong> 62% of all kindergarten through third grade students would score at grade level or above on reading tests in spring 2023. By spring 2026, the goal is 70%.</p><p><strong>Result: </strong>Not met. 58% scored at grade level or above in spring 2023.</p><p><strong>Goal:</strong> 40% of all third through fifth grade students would meet or exceed expectations on state literacy tests in spring 2023. By spring 2026, the goal is 48%.</p><p><strong>Result:</strong> Not met. 39% met or exceeded expectations in spring 2023.</p><p><strong>Goal:</strong> 28% of all sixth through eighth grade students would meet or exceed expectations on state math tests in spring 2023. By spring 2026, the goal is 36%.</p><p><strong>Result:</strong> Met. 28% met or exceeded expectations in spring 2023.</p><p><strong>Goal:</strong> 26% of Latinx students in third through fifth grade would meet or exceed expectations on state literacy tests in spring 2023. Neither the report nor the presentation includes a goal for 2026.</p><p><strong>Result:</strong> Not met. 23% met or exceeded expectations in spring 2023.</p><p><strong>Goal:</strong> 15% of Latinx students in sixth through eighth grade would meet or exceed expectations on state math tests in spring 2023. Neither the report nor the presentation includes a goal for 2026.</p><p><strong>Result:</strong> Not met. 13% met or exceeded expectations in spring 2023.</p><p><strong>Goal:</strong> 26% of Black students in third through fifth grade would meet or exceed expectations on state literacy tests in spring 2023. Neither the report nor the presentation includes a goal for 2026.</p><p><strong>Result:</strong> Not met. 24% met or exceeded expectations in spring 2023.</p><p><strong>Goal:</strong> 16% of Black students in sixth through eighth grade would meet or exceed expectations on state math tests in spring 2023. Neither the report nor the presentation includes a goal for 2026.</p><p><strong>Result: </strong>Met. 16% met or exceeded expectations in spring 2023.</p><p><strong>Goal:</strong> 21% of English language learners in third through fifth grade would meet or exceed expectations on state literacy tests taken in both English and Spanish in spring 2023. Neither the report nor the presentation includes a goal for 2026.</p><p><strong>Result:</strong> Not met. 17% met or exceeded expectations in spring 2023.</p><p><strong>Goal:</strong> 22% of redesignated English language learners, meaning they no longer need ELL services, in grades six through eight would meet or exceed expectations on state math tests in spring 2023. Neither the report nor the presentation includes a goal for 2026.</p><p><strong>Result:</strong> Met. 22% met or exceeded expectations in spring 2023.</p><p>The report and presentation also summarized results from new surveys the district conducted of students, families, and employees. For instance, 89% of families said they feel safe and welcomed in DPS, according to the presentation, and 52% of employees said they feel valued.</p><p><em>Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at </em><a href="mailto:masmar@chalkbeat.org"><em>masmar@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/9/27/23893289/denver-public-schools-annual-report-test-scores-strategic-plan-marrero/Melanie AsmarRJ Sangosti / The Denver Post2023-09-27T16:00:00+00:002023-09-27T16:00:00+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with education news in Denver and around the state. &nbsp;</em></p><p>Two outside companies that Denver Public Schools hired to tutor students in an effort to make up for lost learning fell short of some targets that could have earned the companies extra pay.</p><p>Though one company fared better than the other, many students didn’t hit the academic benchmarks spelled out in the district’s contracts. Some students struggled with participation, and staffing was a challenge for the company that tutored students in person.</p><p>“It was definitely a learning experience,” said Angelin Thompson, the director of expanded academic learning for DPS. “It’s great if you can do it with fidelity and if you have qualified tutors. There are just a lot of components that go into it that make it effective or ineffective.”</p><p>But because the contracts with the companies linked part of their payments to the achievement of certain targets, DPS isn’t paying for outcomes that weren’t achieved.</p><p>The concept of outcomes-based contracting is catching on at a time when school districts across the country have more cash to spend and bigger gaps to close.&nbsp;</p><p>Pandemic-era disruptions caused many students to miss key lessons, which prompted the federal government to invest billions of dollars of COVID-19 relief funding in America’s schools.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/12/9/22165700/learning-loss-tutoring-blueprint-schools">Tutoring quickly emerged as a leading research-based strategy</a> to catch students up — especially high-impact or high-dosage tutoring, which DPS defined as 36 hours per student.</p><p>Colorado lawmakers set aside nearly $5 million in state funding in 2021 for grants to school districts to set up high-impact tutoring programs, and the State Board of Education pumped even more federal COVID relief aid, known as ESSER, into the program.&nbsp;</p><p>Denver Public Schools, the state’s largest district, applied for the grants and won. The tutoring began in fall 2021 and ramped up last school year when <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/3/4/22962367/denver-literacy-math-tutoring-pandemic-learning-loss-federal-relief-money">DPS signed contracts with two companies</a>: Cignition and University Instructors. But the program was still pilot-size, serving only about 1,500 students total, or about 2% of all students in DPS.</p><h2>Younger students made less progress</h2><p>University Instructors struggled the most to meet the benchmarks in its contract.&nbsp;</p><p>In the 2022-23 school year, the Virginia-based company provided in-person literacy tutoring to DPS students in kindergarten through third grade. Its contract was for a maximum of $1.2 million: $900 per student in base pay with the possibility of $1,500 per student in payments based on hitting target outcomes.&nbsp;</p><p>The outcomes were based on the mechanics of reading: Did students’ fluency improve, as measured by a test called iStation? How about their vocabulary or phonemic awareness?</p><p>The answer for many students was no — or at least not enough to meet the benchmarks in the contract. For example, about half of the 641 students tutored by University Instructors met the benchmark in fluency, but only 17% met the benchmark in vocabulary, Thompson said.&nbsp;</p><p>University Instructors will likely be paid about $826,000, or about 68% of the maximum in its contract, according to calculations by Thompson’s staff.</p><p>The company did not respond to messages seeking comment for this story.</p><p>Staffing challenges contributed to the results, Thompson said. University Instructors struggled at times to hire qualified local tutors and provide substitutes when tutors were out, she said.</p><p>Another hiccup was more technical. Not all DPS schools use the iStation test that University Instructors’ target outcomes were based on. Thompson’s staff tried to approximate whether students who took other tests met the benchmarks, but she said that wasn’t always possible.</p><h2>Online tutoring was more successful</h2><p>Cignition fared better. District records show DPS paid the California-based company $1.25 million to provide online math tutoring to students in third through eighth grade in 2022-23. Cignition’s contract with DPS was for up to $1.3 million, and the company served 924 students.</p><p>Cignition had four outcomes it was trying to achieve: two based on students’ confidence about math, as measured by surveys before and after tutoring, and two based on students’ academic growth, as measured by test scores before and after tutoring. The company was paid a base rate of $720 per student and could earn $940 per student on top of that if it met all targets.</p><p>In an interview, Cignition provided a detailed breakdown of its results. The majority of students reported higher confidence, with as many as 89% meeting one of the survey-based benchmarks. Fewer students — 72% — met the academic benchmarks, the company said.</p><p>Michael Cohen, founder and CEO of Cignition, said he’s proud of the outcomes.</p><p>“We care about quality,” he said. “We’re there to help their students that are struggling the most. Some of those students are really, really struggling, and we do everything we can for every student to bring them up as far as they can possibly get in that school year. There’s going to be a range. Not every last one will get to the highest possible grade.”</p><p>Unlike University Instructors, Cignition did not struggle with staffing, according to both the company and DPS. Its model calls for one tutor, who can live anywhere in the country, to work online with a group of four students, giving that group undivided attention.&nbsp;</p><p>But Cignition did report issues with student attendance and schools occasionally canceling virtual tutoring sessions. While DPS was aiming to provide students with at least 36 hours of tutoring, Cignition said 50 hours is the gold standard. Only about 10% of DPS students logged 50 hours, the company said. About half of the students logged 25 hours.</p><h2>Outcomes-based contracts catching on</h2><p>At a time when other school districts across the country <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/17/23795007/paper-online-tutoring-often-fails-students">have had trouble with external tutoring companies</a>, the state grant allowed DPS to try high-impact tutoring relatively risk-free — an opportunity that Thompson said will inform the district’s tutoring strategy going forward.</p><p>“Because of the grant, we were able to try these things and learn what works and what doesn’t,” she said. “Now as we plan for what tutoring will look like with Denver Public Schools’ money, we can think about all the things we learned and do it differently.”</p><p>One aspect DPS will likely keep, Thompson said, is outcomes-based contracting. While the concept has been around for years in industries such as health care and construction, it’s new in K-12 education, with about 13 school districts actively participating, said Brittany Miller, the director of outcomes-based contracting for the Georgia-based Southern Education Foundation.</p><p>Before Miller worked for the foundation, she worked for DPS and helped set up the outcomes-based tutoring contracts. The benefit, she said, is that school districts have a tangible way to judge whether the results are worth the millions of dollars they spend on external vendors.</p><p>“There is a lack of infrastructure in K-12 education, particularly in the procurement process, to say, ‘After we spent these funds, what happened for kids?’” Miller said. “This shores up a lot of that.”</p><p>Miller said outcomes-based contracting benefits vendors, too, because it sets clear expectations rather than the fuzzy goals that companies sometimes complain about. It also gives the companies the opportunity to earn more money for good performance.</p><p>Toni Rader, vice president of learning quality and operations for Cignition, said the company has been doing outcomes-based contracts with districts since 2021.</p><p>“We love to do outcomes-based contracts,”<strong> </strong>Rader said. “It’s helpful for all parties involved, because it makes it clear what we’re shooting for.”</p><p>As for DPS, its state grant goes through this school year. But Thompson said the dollar amount is much lower this year, and there are new restrictions. DPS will have just $400,000 to spend, and only on middle school math tutoring, for which the district will request proposals soon.</p><p><em>Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at </em><a href="mailto:masmar@chalkbeat.org"><em>masmar@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/9/27/23891674/tutoring-denver-public-schools-outcomes-based-contracts-pandemic-esser/Melanie Asmar2023-09-27T09:00:00+00:002023-09-27T09:00:00+00:00<p><em>This story was published in partnership with the </em><a href="https://publicintegrity.org/education/unhoused-and-undercounted/maryland-homeless-students-education-dispute-process/"><em>Center for Public Integrity</em></a><em>, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates inequality.</em></p><p>Federal education law explicitly seeks to help homeless children and youth stay in school, in the hopes academic opportunity will allow them to break the cycle of housing instability.</p><p>Taking them out of class could worsen their chances of success.</p><p>But an analysis of data in California shows the state’s homeless students are suspended at higher rates than their peers.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>California schools suspended more than 12,000 students who were identified as homeless in the 2021-2022 school year, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of the most recent data available. That means nearly 6% of all homeless students were suspended compared to roughly 3% of all other students.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>And in about 20% of school districts across the state, homeless students were suspended at rates at least double the district baseline in recent school years — in some cases, far higher. The disparity persisted in some districts as overall suspension rates rebounded after school closures earlier in the pandemic.</p><p>The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act — the federal law promising equal access to education for homeless students — requires schools to remove obstacles to those students’ education, whether by arranging transportation to school or waiving normally required paperwork.</p><p>There’s no ban on suspensions — but they’re hardly in keeping with the spirit of the law.&nbsp;</p><p>“The whole point of the McKinney-Vento Act was to ensure that students that are experiencing homelessness are in school,” said Lynda Thistle Elliott, a former state homeless education coordinator in New Hampshire. “It’s really important to look at in what instances do we actually remove students from school, which is the one thing they really, really need to make a difference.”&nbsp;</p><p><div id="SL0SGh" class="html"><iframe title="The suspension rate rebounds" aria-label="Interactive line chart" id="datawrapper-chart-q7xOs" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/q7xOs/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="400" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}(); </script> </div></p><p>And the figures in California may only scratch the surface, since <a href="https://publicintegrity.org/education/unhoused-and-undercounted/schools-fail-to-count-homeless-students/">many homeless youth aren’t identified</a> as such by their school system and struggle without federally required help.&nbsp;</p><p>Earl Edwards, an assistant professor at Boston College, said that when he interviewed students experiencing homelessness, he found that the threat of school discipline often discouraged them from telling teachers or other staff about their housing status.</p><p>“They would say, ‘I didn’t tell the school anything about what was going on, because every time I got to school, they was yelling at me for being late,’” he said. “[Discipline] actually deteriorates the trust that those kids have, when they’re being punished, a lot of times, for being impoverished.”</p><p>California educators said their school systems have already implemented disciplinary reforms that emphasize reconciling students with their classmates and teachers while preventing behaviors that could result in punishment. Still, many noted that nothing in state law mandates school officials to adjust how or whether to discipline a student based on their homeless status.&nbsp;</p><p>“There’s no requirement for educators currently to, per se, consider housing,” said Jennifer Kottke, who helps to train districts on homeless education law through the Los Angeles County Office of Education. But she added that educators ought to consult colleagues who work with homeless youth to weigh “what’s happening in the lives of the students” when deciding how to respond to behavior.</p><p>The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which tracks school discipline data nationwide, does not break it out by housing status.</p><p>But California, which has the third-highest rate of student homelessness in the country, is not the only state where available data suggests children and youth without stable housing are more likely to experience discipline, too.&nbsp;</p><p>Students experiencing homelessness in Washington were suspended and expelled at almost three times the rate of their housed peers, <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/housing-one-of-biggest-predictors-of-getting-kicked-out-of-wa-schools/">The Seattle Times reported in a 2022 article</a> produced as part of a <a href="https://publicintegrity.org/topics/education/unhoused-and-undercounted/">collaboration</a> between the Center for Public Integrity and the Times, Street Sense Media, and WAMU/DCist. And studies in <a href="http://www.shimberg.ufl.edu/publications/homeless_education_fla171205RGB.pdf">Florida</a>, <a href="https://www.chipindy.org/uploads/1/3/3/1/133118768/yya_coordinated_community_plan.pdf">Indiana</a>, <a href="https://poverty.umich.edu/publications/recognizing-trauma-why-school-discipline-reform-needs-to-consider-student-homelessness/">Michigan</a>, <a href="https://www.icphusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ICPH_Suspensions_FINAL.pdf">New York</a>, <a href="https://www.texasappleseed.org/sites/default/files/YoungAloneHomeless_Snapshot_fin.pdf">Texas</a> and <a href="https://buildingchanges.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SchoolhouseWA_OutcomesReport_2018.pdf">Washington</a> found similar results.</p><h1>Homeless students, high-stakes suspension</h1><p>A student who qualifies under the U.S. Department of Education’s definition of homelessness — which includes children forced to share housing because they lost their own — may be suspended more frequently than their stably housed peers for a number of reasons.&nbsp;</p><p>Homeless students may change schools, disrupting opportunities to build meaningful relationships with adults or fellow students. They may miss school days, causing them to fall behind academically and socially. They may experience other trauma related to losing their housing, whether it be a sudden eviction or domestic violence.</p><p>Racial discrimination could also play a role. African American students in California are disproportionately suspended from schools — and are overrepresented among homeless students, too.</p><p><div id="MTs1n7" class="html"><iframe title="Higher suspension rates for homeless students" aria-label="Range Plot" id="datawrapper-chart-3A5rW" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/3A5rW/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="393" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}(); </script></div></p><p>Accessibility is another potential factor. Students receiving services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are both more likely to receive a suspension than peers and are more likely to experience homelessness.&nbsp;</p><p>As a result of those disparities, guidance under <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=48900.5.&amp;nodeTreePath=2.3.3.7.1&amp;lawCode=EDC">California</a> <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=56026.&amp;lawCode=EDC">law</a> encourages educators to consider students’ disabilities before disciplining them.</p><p>Educators interviewed for this story said they cannot divert a homeless child to an alternative other than a suspension where the law requires one.</p><p>Still, nothing prevents schools from examining the broader picture of students’ lives in situations where suspension is not mandatory. Cynthia Rice, legal director at the <a href="https://creeclaw.org/about/our-team/staff/">Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center</a>, said current California law already guides school administrators to consider contextual factors like a child’s home life before issuing a suspension.&nbsp;</p><p>“Whether or not you would suspend a kid for getting into a verbal altercation, you would look at whether or not the nature of that altercation had something to do with his or her homeless status,” said Rice, previously with California Rural Legal Assistance, a nonprofit law firm that has <a href="https://archive.crla.org/appellate-court-rules-students-may-sue-state-california.html">represented students in litigation challenging school discipline policies</a>. “To just kind of separate those two things completely? That doesn’t make any sense.”</p><p>Rice said she would argue that school districts receiving McKinney-Vento funds must take into account the housing status of students when deciding whether and how to discipline them. But most school districts do not have a formal policy to that effect, she said.</p><p>Federal law recognizes that students experiencing homelessness often must overcome formidable obstacles to attending class. For example, children without stable housing may find it difficult to catch a ride to school. That’s why federal law guarantees them such transportation, including to the school they attended when they lost housing.&nbsp;</p><p>School discipline can jeopardize that right.</p><p>Thistle Elliott, who now works as an advocate for homeless youth, said some New Hampshire districts revoked students’ transportation temporarily because of behavioral issues.</p><p>“A district could say, ‘Well, this isn’t working out, because we’ve got behavior issues. Maybe the child or youth needs to attend school where they’re temporarily residing and not their school of origin,’” she said. “But remember that, in making those decisions about the best placement for attending school, it’s the placement that is in the child’s best interest, not in the school’s best interest.”&nbsp;</p><p>And that’s assuming educators know a child is without stable housing. A <a href="https://publicintegrity.org/education/unhoused-and-undercounted/schools-fail-to-count-homeless-students/">2022 investigation by Public Integrity</a> estimated that hundreds of thousands of children who are eligible for assistance because of their housing instability may go unidentified in schools around the country. That means schools may also suspend students without knowing they qualify as homeless under federal law.</p><p>A disconnect between homeless support staff and school discipline could be costly. <a href="https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/student-suspensions-have-negative-consequences-according-nyc-study">Numerous</a> researchers have linked school suspensions to long-term negative consequences.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://sdp.cepr.harvard.edu/blog/long-term-impacts-school-suspension-adult-crime">One recent study found</a> that students in schools with higher suspension rates were more likely to be arrested and incarcerated as adults. <a href="https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/2021-08/NYC-Suspension-Effects-Behavioral-Academic-Outcomes-August-2021.pdf">Another concluded</a> that receiving more severe exclusionary discipline decreased the likelihood of graduation. <a href="https://education.tamu.edu/how-in-school-suspensions-are-correlated-with-academic-failure-cehd-researcher-finds-2/">Yet another</a> found that just one in-school suspension predicted a significant risk of failing a standardized test.</p><h1>Districts, data, and discipline</h1><p>One immediate consequence of California’s emphasis on reforming school discipline is that district administrators know that anyone, including parents or the press, can see their suspension statistics online.</p><p>The state has put suspension rates on an easy-to-search website – <a href="https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/cm/sysofsupport.asp">and put schools on notice that high rates</a> will trigger “differentiated assistance,” an accountability plan designed to improve that metric.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“Our suspension rates are high on the California School Dashboard – full transparency,” said Chuck Palmer, the senior director of student services and innovation at El Dorado Union High School District in Placerville, where homeless youth in recent years have been suspended at rates roughly four to six times those of students presumed to be housed. “We’re going to see ourselves in the red in a lot of our schools, and that’s not acceptable.”</p><p>But district administrators interviewed for this story were quick to argue their discipline data was incomplete or misleading, failing to capture subtleties in how many homeless students they suspend and why.</p><p>For example, Fresno Unified in California’s Central Valley suspended 109 homeless students in the 2021-2022 school year, a frequency twice the rate of suspension for all other students.</p><p>Caine Christensen, who was the district’s director of student support services when interviewed by Public Integrity this spring, said homeless students only appear to be disciplined disproportionately because the district has so few of them. (Christensen has since left the district.)</p><p>That assertion is not backed up by the district’s statistics. Public Integrity’s analysis found that Fresno’s tendency to suspend homeless students more than housed peers is not a fluke of small cohort size. A statistical test that takes into account the total number of homeless students showed a significant difference between suspension rates for housed and unhoused students in the 2021-2022 school year.</p><p>Other school administrators said that steps they took before resorting to suspension aren’t evident from top-line statistics, nor are their efforts to return children to the classroom quickly.</p><p>The Placer Union High School District northeast of Sacramento suspended 14% of the 112 homeless students enrolled in the 2021-2022 school year — almost three times the rate for all other students in the school system. Trent Wilson, who serves as the district’s executive director of educational services, noted that virtually all those suspensions were shortened, served at least partially on school property or preceded by suspension alternatives such as meetings with counselors.</p><p>Another district said relatively high suspension rates for homeless students reflect the rigor with which their staffers serve that population and record state-mandated data.</p><p><div id="YLaqz2" class="html"><iframe title="Unequal suspensions" aria-label="Scatter Plot" id="datawrapper-chart-IGfan" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/IGfan/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="473" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}(); </script></div></p><p>San Juan Unified in Sacramento County suspended homeless students for defiance-only behaviors — a broad category that covers actions that “disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully defied” a teacher or other school authority — at three times the rate for all other students in the 2021-2022 school year.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Dominic Covello, the district’s director of student support services, said San Juan Unified may appear to suspend homeless students more than other districts because personnel trained to <a href="https://nche.ed.gov/legislation/mckinney-vento/">follow federal law</a> are identifying homeless students more effectively than other districts’ staff.&nbsp; He said the data also doesn’t capture a district-wide shift toward more in-school suspensions and fewer out-of-school suspensions. And he suggested that San Juan Unified is more faithful to the <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codesTOCSelected.xhtml?tocCode=EDC&amp;tocTitle=+Education+Code+-+EDC">Education Code</a> definition of willful defiance than other districts.</p><p>“I’ll just say that you can take any incident of defiance and disruption, and you can suspend that student for something else under the Ed Code,” he said.</p><p>The California Department of Education has acknowledged that some school district officials may seek to manipulate their discipline statistics so that rates of suspension and expulsion appear lower. In February, the state <a href="https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr23/yr23rel12.asp">launched a tip line</a> for those wishing to report school districts they suspect are masking how frequently students are disciplined.</p><h1>Recognizing trauma, seeking alternatives</h1><p>At Elk Grove Unified southeast of Sacramento, nearly 13% of homeless students were suspended in the 2021-2022 school year compared to about 4% of the remaining student body.</p><p>“You’re dealing with families who are unhoused — a level of trauma and instability in their lives that can be all-consuming,” said Tami Silvera, the district’s liaison to homeless students. “That has a trickle-down effect to their children, and then how their children are able to manage when their families are having such a difficult time.”</p><p>She said the district aims to reach students upstream of the disciplinary process as a result, whether by offering therapy or access to a small district food bank — and connecting students to similar resources outside of school.&nbsp;</p><p>At Placer Union, Wilson said school counselors attend regular meetings where staff discuss how to respond to student behavior and consider factors like housing.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’ve done, absolutely, things where we know that a kid’s living situation is such that we were not going to suspend at home and [instead we] do something entirely different,” Wilson said.</p><p>El Dorado Union’s Palmer also emphasized prevention. One of the district’s strategies: Get kids plugged into school activities like sports to strengthen their ties to adults on campus as well as fellow students, and make sure they know resources are available if money is a barrier. The district suspended 24 of 128 homeless students enrolled in the 2021-2022 school year.</p><p>At Hanford Joint Union High School District, 35 miles south of Fresno, an administrator pointed to logistical issues that may lead to suspensions of homeless students.</p><p>District Superintendent Victor Rosa said it’s possible some students without a stable home are suspended because they’re caught with prohibited items they bring to school, having no permanent home to store them.</p><p>“For some of these kids, especially if they’re truly homeless, they have all their stuff on them,” Rosa said, “so sometimes it’d be a situation where you got caught with a vape, but then you have a knife, or you have something else on you that then just lends itself to us not really having any alternative options” except to suspend.</p><p>In 2021-2022, the rate of suspension among the district’s 87 homeless students was more than twice the rate for other students.</p><p>Rosa said his goal is to change Hanford’s culture and its formal policies, moving away from immediate punishment and toward alternatives like a drug treatment course.</p><p>“Our board policies are still a little antiquated from a standpoint of ‘Two fights, you’re expelled. Two marijuana offenses, you’re expelled’ — the type of things where other districts have moved forward already to another means of correction,” he said in a November 2022 interview.</p><p>In Fresno, Christensen said the district employs clinical social workers assigned to foster and homeless students. Staff try to keep housing-unstable students in the school they currently attend to strengthen their relationships with peers and adults.</p><p>A union official said the district’s approach has several shortcomings.</p><p>Manuel Bonilla, the president of the Fresno Teachers Association, said Fresno officials speak of using “restorative practices” to prevent students from facing suspension, but fail to implement steps that would allow students to make amends and reestablish trust when they disobey school policy. After a teacher removes a student from class, he said, “there’s no accountability. What happens is, a student is back in your class 15-20 minutes later. That’s not restorative.”</p><p>Plus, teachers on the front lines may not be aware of a student’s housing status.</p><p>Bonilla said teachers are often left guessing about the circumstances driving disruptive behavior and forced to decide how best to respond by themselves.</p><p>“Eventually, [teachers] reach a breaking point, like, ‘Oh, my goodness, what am I gonna do?’ You’re just surviving at a certain point,” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>Tumani Heights, the Fresno Unified district liaison to homeless students, said teachers can access records showing a student’s housing status and can ask school social workers for information. In Fresno schools that have restorative practice<strong> </strong>counselors, she said, children who have been disciplined can attend a meeting to discuss support they need “as well as try to repair whatever harm was done.”</p><p>But one thing that would help homeless students the most might not be within school districts’ control: gaining stable housing.&nbsp;</p><p>“Especially when we’re looking at our families who are transient, a lot of them have evictions and different things that they’re facing,” Heights said. “Being able to help them and link them to stable housing sometimes can be a barrier.”</p><h1>Reform, backlash, and what’s next</h1><p>California <a href="https://www.aclunc.org/news/california-enacts-first-nation-law-eliminate-student-suspensions-minor-misbehavior">won praise from school discipline reform advocates</a> in 2014 when it became the first state to ban suspensions for children in kindergarten through third grade and to eliminate expulsions for misbehavior known as “willful defiance.”&nbsp;</p><p>The state later <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB419">expanded those protections</a>. California law now shields students up to fifth grade from willful defiance suspensions. There is a moratorium on that type of discipline for sixth through eighth graders through 2025.&nbsp;</p><p>Lawmakers in at least seven states are going the other direction, <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/28/23658974/school-discipline-violence-safety-state-law-suspensions-restorative-justice">proposing stricter disciplinary measures</a> that would make it easier for educators to remove students from class, according to reporting by Chalkbeat. Those measures are pitched as a response to student misbehavior after the trauma and disruption of the pandemic. Critics say the bills will do more harm than good.</p><p>Federal policy on discipline, meanwhile, has vacillated.</p><p><a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201401-title-vi.html">Obama-era guidance</a> from 2014 urged schools to avoid zero-tolerance disciplinary policies. The Education Department under Secretary Betsy DeVos rescinded those guidelines during the Trump administration, citing an interagency report that found the measures <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/documents/school-safety/school-safety-report.pdf?utm_content=&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_name=&amp;utm_source=govdelivery&amp;utm_term=">“likely had a strong, negative impact on school discipline and safety.”</a> Research on the impacts of the Obama-era school discipline guidance is limited and <a href="https://scholar.harvard.edu/david-martin/publications/discipline-reform-school-culture-and-student-achievement">broader</a> <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ej/article/133/653/2025/7017830">evidence</a> on the <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2019/1/4/21106465/major-new-study-finds-restorative-justice-led-to-safer-schools-but-hurt-black-students-test-scores">effects</a> of reducing school suspensions is mixed.</p><p>The Biden administration in May <a href="https://www.justice.gov/media/1295971/dl?inline">released a document</a> summarizing recent investigations into racial discrimination in student discipline, saying such discipline “forecloses opportunities for students, pushing them out of the classroom and diverting them from a path to success in school and beyond.”&nbsp;</p><p>But some observers said the document is <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-biden-administrations-updated-school-discipline-guidelines-fail-to-meet-the-moment/">light on specific policy guidance</a> or even <a href="https://www.educationnext.org/behind-biden-administrations-retreat-on-race-and-school-discipline-real-concern-on-student-behavior/">marks a retreat</a> from prior efforts to reduce suspensions. The letter “does seem to signal a more conciliatory federal approach to discipline issues as public schools struggle to respond to heightened levels of violence and misbehavior,” wrote Boston College professor R. Shep Melnick in the journal Education Next.</p><p>In California, a <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB740">law</a> that went into effect in January requires schools to notify attorneys, social workers, and others when a foster child receives a suspension notice.&nbsp;</p><p>That can help county education officials detect patterns in discipline that might otherwise go overlooked.</p><p>Allyson Baptiste, a homeless youth advocate who works for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, said the law incentivizes school administrators to explore alternatives before taking students out of class.</p><p>“We’re making sure that if you are suspending or expelling a foster youth, you better make sure that you really, truly followed the letter of the law, and that you did what you could have done to try to prevent the expulsion or suspension,” she said.&nbsp;</p><p>“My hope is that something like that is created at some point for homeless youth as well,” she added, noting that homeless students do not have social workers or attorneys to notify.</p><p>For now, Baptiste is urging the district administrators to go beyond the minimum requirements of state law and tell their district’s liaison to homeless students when a child they support is suspended. Some districts consult the county superintendent’s office in those cases, too, though it is not required.</p><p>But without a law for homeless children like the foster-student notification, Baptiste and her colleagues in the county office of education likely won’t learn about all suspensions until the state updates its online data portals.</p><p>Long after the school year ends — and too late to try to intervene.</p><p><em>Amy DiPierro is a data journalist at the Center for Public Integrity. </em></p><p><em>Journalist Ian Whitaker contributed to this article.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/27/23883830/homeless-suspension-rates-california/Amy DiPierro, Center for Public Integrity2023-09-26T23:29:44+00:002023-09-26T23:29:44+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with NYC’s public schools.</em></p><p>Capping enrollment at high-demand schools. Merging schools located in the same buildings. Moving some 3-K and prekindergarten programs out of K-12 schools. Paying extra to bring more teachers to hard-to-staff schools.</p><p>Those are some of the steps New York City may have to consider in the coming years to comply with a <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/9/8/23343774/nyc-class-size-bill-hochul-adams-budget-union">new state law</a> requiring schools to shrink class sizes for hundreds of thousands of students, according to <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/14Kyzl5SG3GVOvEYcDwp75Yz29ENb_gM5/view">preliminary recommendations</a> from an Education Department working group.</p><p>The recommendations, unveiled at a public hearing Tuesday night, are in the early stages and haven’t been adopted by the Education Department. The group is set to deliver its final recommendations Oct. 31. But the initial recommendations give the most detailed look yet of some of the complicated tradeoffs and challenges ahead as the city attempts to shrink class sizes across hundreds of schools in accordance with the state legislation.</p><p>Under the law, K-3 classes must have fewer than 20 students, 4-8 classes must be under 23, and high school classes can have no more than 25 students. The caps will phase in gradually over the next five years before fully taking effect.</p><p>Currently, more than half of the classes across the city’s 1,600 public schools are out of compliance — over 73,000 classes, according to the 48-member working group, which includes parents, teachers, administrators, union representatives, advocates, and education department officials. Bringing all of those classes under the legal limits will likely require creating thousands of new classes –- and a multi-pronged effort that involves shifting enrollment policies, moving around existing programming to maximize physical space, significantly boosting teacher hiring, and building some new facilities, according to the recommendations.</p><p>The recommendations didn’t come with a specific price tag, but included a suggestion that the city should “aggressively pursue new opportunities for potential funding” to cover the costs of implementation.</p><p>Previous <a href="https://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/how-would-the-new-limits-to-class-sizes-affect-new-york-city-schools-july-2023.pdf">estimates</a> from the Independent Budget Office have put the cost of the additional staffing alone at between $1.6 billion and $1.9 billion a year.</p><p>“We tried to take on a challenging and vexing problem of, ‘How are we going to do this,’” said Patrick Sprinkle, a history teacher at the Lab School for Collaborative Studies in Manhattan and chair of the working group’s staffing sub-committee.</p><p>Deborah Alexander, a Queens parent and working group member, added, “we were really focused on … how to use our diverse perspectives to guide the [Education Department]&nbsp; in ways we are hopeful… will not have too many costs along with the benefit of smaller class sizes.”</p><p>Since its passage last year, the law has drawn fervent praise from many educators, union officials, and parents, along with criticism from city officials, and some parent groups and experts.</p><p>Research has <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/6/10/23162544/class-size-research">consistently shown</a> that lowering class sizes can increase student achievement, and lowering class sizes is a major priority for educators and many parents.&nbsp;</p><p>Mark Henderson, an English teacher at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, often has classes of 34 students, which is the limit outlined in the teachers union’s contract. Bringing the number down to 25 would mean “the classes, the teaching, every element of the school experience would be better,” he said.</p><p>But city officials contend that the state hasn’t provided sufficient resources to meet the new mandate, and that it will require shifting resources away from other critical programs. Several analyses, moreover, suggest that <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/17/23835065/nyc-class-size-law-equity-high-need-schools">the highest-poverty schools will benefit less</a> from the law because they are already more likely to have classes under the legal cap.</p><h2>Working group eyes enrollment changes</h2><p>One method the city can use to control class sizes is shifting its enrollment policies. The working group acknowledges that the Education Department will likely have to “limit enrollment at overcrowded schools that do not have the space to comply with the new class size caps.”</p><p>Working group co-chair Johanna Garcia, the chief of staff for state Sen. Robert Jackson, explained that many oversubscribed schools sit right next to under-enrolled ones. Spreading out enrollment across nearby schools “could lead to benefits at both sets of schools, creating more space for smaller classes and less chaos at the overcrowded schools” while saving the city the cost of building new facilities.</p><p>Many of the city’s most oversubscribed schools are among its most popular, and multiple parents voiced vehement objections in Tuesday’s public forum to any efforts to cap or reduce enrollment at overcrowded schools.&nbsp;</p><p>“For high schools, in particular, cutting seats” at the most in-demand schools “would have a devastating, cascading impact” resulting in fewer students getting their top choice schools, said Shane Harrison, a parent of a seventh grader.</p><p>There is a provision in the law that would temporarily exempt schools from the class size requirements when a lack of space, overenrollment, a shortage of teachers, or “severe economic distress” make it impossible to comply, but the law offers no specifics about the thresholds for qualifying for an exemption.</p><p>Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education, or PLACE, a parent advocacy group that supports selective schools and programs, has <a href="https://placenyc.org/2023/09/23/place-nyc-calls-for-exempting-academically-successful-schools-from-unfunded-ny-state-class-size-law/">called</a> for legislators to amend the law to exempt “high-performing” schools and programs from the class size law.</p><p>But Tom Sheppard, a Bronx parent and member of the Panel for Educational Policy who also served on the working group, countered that offering a blanket exemption to high-performing schools would “allow schools that people ‘want to go to’ to stay bursting at the seams while schools where you have issues with enrollment, it perpetuates that.”</p><p>&nbsp;The working group also recommends instituting multiple shifts at overcrowded schools — so that not all students would be in the school building at the same time — as a temporary stopgap in place of capping enrollments. Some of the city’s large high schools already have multiple overlapping shifts of students.</p><h2>Some schools will need more space and teachers</h2><p>The working group suggests shifting school programming in order to maximize all available space to create additional classes. That could involve moving 3-K and pre-K programs out of district school buildings to free up space and merging separate schools co-located in the same buildings to streamline operations, according to the recommendations.</p><p>Garcia said relocating pre-K classes from district schools to community-based organizations with “thousands of unfilled seats” in their city-funded pre-K programs could open space in elementary schools without sacrificing quality of the preschool programs.</p><p>But Martina Meijer, a Brooklyn public school teacher, raised a concern that such a move would make staffers from those programs ineligible to be members of the United Federation of Teachers.</p><p>The group cautioned that spaces for physical education, art, or elective classes shouldn’t be taken over to create more space for core classes.</p><p>Opening new facilities should be a last resort — and in cases where the city does need additional school space, it should prioritize leasing existing buildings like shuttered parochial and charter schools, rather than building new schools, according to the preliminary recommendations.</p><p>The city’s School Construction Authority recently <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zULIMo-_d8CNuSj_3WLjJThS7EtOWfvc/view">estimated</a> that between 400 and 500 schools will need additional space in order to comply with the class size law. An estimated 40% of those schools — between 160 and 200 — would likely need entirely new facilities, according to the estimates.</p><p>Finding enough physical space, however, is only one part of the equation. The city will also need enough teachers to staff newly opened classes. Education Department officials have estimated that the city’s teaching force, <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/6/23862194/nyc-teacher-workforce-shortages">currently at around 76,000</a>, will need to grow by 9,000 by the time the law takes full effect.</p><p>Suggestions for boosting teacher hiring include easing the process for paraprofessionals and teacher aides to earn their teacher license and offering pay incentives for teachers who work in hard-to-staff schools and subject areas — an idea the city has <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2019/2/8/21106764/these-50-new-york-city-schools-could-boost-teacher-pay-and-get-other-perks-under-new-bronx-plan">experimented with</a> before.</p><p><em>Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Michael at&nbsp;</em><a href="mailto:melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org"><em>melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org</em></a>.</p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2023/9/26/23891718/nyc-class-size-law-working-group-recommendations/Michael Elsen-Rooney2023-09-26T11:00:00+00:002023-09-26T11:00:00+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news. &nbsp;</em></p><p>Gone are the days of a single grade serving as a measure of an Indiana school’s quality. Under a new state law, schools are instead getting what amounts to a report card.</p><p>Beginning Oct. 15, each school must post on its website a school performance report from the Indiana Department of Education that shows how its students are doing on academic and other measures.</p><p>What’s included will vary by the grade levels the school serves. Elementary schools, which are defined as schools serving K-8 grades, will include:</p><ul><li>Pass rates for the 3rd grade literacy test, the IREAD</li><li>Pass rates for the state test, the ILEARN</li><li>Chronic absenteeism rates</li><li>Per-student funding. </li></ul><p>High schools’ report cards, meanwhile, will include the following:</p><ul><li>Average composite SAT score. </li><li>Graduation rate and non-waiver graduation rate.</li><li>Per-student funding.</li><li>Percentage of students who enrolled in and passed any of the following: an Advanced Placement exam, International Baccalaureate exam, dual credit course, or Cambridge International exam.</li></ul><p>Several metrics will also be compared across schools serving the same grade bands.&nbsp;</p><p>The change marks the beginning of the end for the state’s previous evaluation metric — A-F grades. They’ve been effectively suspended since 2018 as Indiana shifted to a new state test and later grappled with the pandemic.&nbsp;</p><p>Technically, the requirement for A-F school grades is still on the books. Yet under the new law, the state will again issue “null” grades for each school for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, as it has since 2018.&nbsp;</p><p>The school performance reports will cover the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years. For subsequent years, the Indiana education department is charged with coming up with new recommendations for accountability to present to lawmakers by Dec. 1, 2024.</p><p>The data for the new report cards will come from the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed (GPS) dashboard, which the state <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/2/9/23592830/indiana-school-quality-dashboard-literacy-college-enrollment-grades-accountability-special-education">developed this year</a> with the aim of making it easier for parents to access information about their schools.&nbsp;</p><p>Many of the data points required by the new report cards are already available on each school’s <a href="https://indianagps.doe.in.gov/">GPS profile</a> — with the notable exception of per-student funding.</p><p>Schools will receive their reports and instructions to embed them on their websites in the coming weeks, according to an education department memo.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/indiana/2023/9/26/23890028/indiana-letter-grades-report-card-attendance-test-ilearn-iread-pass-rate/Aleksandra Appleton2023-09-25T22:20:04+00:002023-09-25T22:20:04+00:00<p>Mary Fahey Hughes, a member of Chicago’s Board of Education, went into mom mode Monday during a tour of her son’s former South Side school, which provides work and life skills training to older students with disabilities.</p><p>Standing to the side of a horticulture classroom at <a href="https://www.southsideacademycps.org/">Southside Occupational Academy High School</a>, Hughes smiled as she snapped photos of Aidan next to Mayor Brandon Johnson, who was also on the tour. Aidan has come far from when he was diagnosed with autism as a child — and Hughes was unsure what his future would look like, she said.&nbsp;</p><p>She credits the Englewood school — from which Aidan graduated in June — with giving him the confidence to chat up the mayor and show off his alma mater.&nbsp;</p><p>“He just gained so much independence,” Hughes said in a hallway at Southside. “The thing I love about this place is there is so much respect for students where they’re at.”</p><p>Chicago Public Schools officials are considering expanding the model at Southside and a handful of other so-called specialty schools, which are meant to help students with more challenging disabilities transition into the real world, Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said Monday.&nbsp;</p><p>Monday’s tour was the district’s opportunity to show off the model to Johnson and a slew of other city and district officials. If the district decides to grow the program, it would need to lobby the state for more funding, Martinez said.</p><p>“We’re having the conversation internally about, how do we look at these programs, build on their strengths and potentially expand them,” Martinez said.&nbsp;</p><p>The district has seven specialty schools that together enroll about 1,800 students with mild to moderate cognitive disabilities, said Sylvia Barragan, a spokesperson for Chicago Public Schools. Three schools are early childhood programs that serve younger students with disabilities. The remaining four — including Southside — are for older students and have a focus on vocational and life skills.&nbsp;</p><p>Unlike traditional high schools, the district assigns students to these schools, Barragan said.&nbsp;</p><p>Some students with disabilities who look for work after graduation may benefit more from going through a specialty program first, Martinez said. He believes the need is enough to warrant doubling the number of specialty schools.&nbsp;</p><p>Other districts, <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2019/12/18/21055529/why-students-with-disabilities-are-going-to-school-in-classrooms-that-look-like-staples-and-cvs">such as New York City, have similar programs</a> where students with disabilities learn vocational skills.&nbsp;</p><p>These programs, however, have drawn some criticism for segregating students with disabilities, instead of allowing students to build skills next to peers who don’t have a diagnosed disability.&nbsp;</p><p>Southside Principal Joshua Long <a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/19/chicago-special-education-transition-schools-215728/">has said</a> his school model allows students to have the specialized attention they need.&nbsp;</p><p>At Southside, nearly 88% of students came from low-income families last year. Asked if schools like Southside limit students to low-paying jobs, Hughes said the programs hone skills that these young adults may otherwise miss out on, potentially leaving them stuck at home without work. Hughes noted that the schools serve students with a variety of strengths, and some graduates go on to community college.&nbsp;</p><p>“The problem is that a lot of jobs are low-paying, despite the amount of work that needs to get done,” Hughes said.&nbsp;</p><p>High school students can attend <a href="https://www.vaughnhs.org/">Vaughn Occupational High School</a> and <a href="https://www.northsidelearningcenter.org/">Northside Learning Center High School</a>, both on the Northwest Side. Southside, in Englewood, and <a href="https://www.raygrahamtrainingcenter.com/">Ray Graham Training Center</a>, in the South Loop, serve students who have met graduation requirements but still need “transition supports and services,” as determined by the team that creates their Individualized Education Program, according to the district. At these two schools, students are typically ages 18-22.&nbsp;</p><p>At Southside, where 360 students enrolled last year, students learn about various potential jobs and responsibilities they will need in the real world. Most students are exposed to every class, and some do internships, such as with the Museum of Science and Industry, said Kristen Dimas, a teacher at the school.&nbsp;</p><p>Long led the mayor and other officials through several different rooms that simulate a different career or life responsibility. Among the classrooms they saw were a horticulture class, a mock grocery store, a broadcast studio with a green screen, a garage where students learn to wash cars, and a café — complete with a bakery display case.</p><p>A group of students stopped by the horticulture room to ask if they had laundry. They would eventually go to the laundry room, where they learn how to wash clothes but also learn a mental checklist on basic hygiene.&nbsp;</p><p>“Smell your armpits. Do they smell fresh?” said a laminated list in the laundry room. “If not, put on deodorant.”&nbsp;</p><p>In a supply room, where a laminated document listed rules for folding a T-shirt, a student carefully practiced folding. Long gently asked her to get the mayor’s T-shirt size, but the student was shy. The mayor, who used to be a teacher, ultimately revealed he’s an extra large.&nbsp;</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/saYMRLdpcYzpp6lgMBlvuRv05yE=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/U3S7OVNC4VF3VMZS4T4A3BLGKA.jpg" alt="Mayor Brandon Johnson watches a student practice folding a T-shirt at Southside Occupational Academy High School in Englewood." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Mayor Brandon Johnson watches a student practice folding a T-shirt at Southside Occupational Academy High School in Englewood.</figcaption></figure><p>“But here’s the thing — you don’t have to tell everybody that,” he said to the student, who laughed and handed him a T-shirt.</p><p>The café and laundry classes are favorites of 18-year-old Josiah Hall, who enrolled at Southside in August. He especially enjoys spending time with the teachers, he said. He hopes to attend a four-year university, such as the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.</p><p>The school works to help students understand the career options that are right for them and to reach those goals, Long said.</p><p>For Aidan, Hughes’ son, that path has led to a new transition <a href="https://colleges.ccc.edu/after-22/">program for adults age 18 and older at Daley College.</a> He’s also taking EMT classes and dreams one day of being a firefighter like his father.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Correction:&nbsp;</strong><em>Sept. 26, 2023: A previous version of this story said the program at Daley College is for people age 22 and older. It is for people age 18 and older. </em></p><p><em>Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.&nbsp;&nbsp;</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/9/25/23890046/chicago-public-schools-specialty-programs-students-with-disabilities-job-training/Reema Amin2023-09-20T20:17:22+00:002023-09-20T20:17:22+00:00<p><em>Sign up for&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/national"><em>Chalkbeat’s free weekly newsletter</em></a><em>&nbsp;to get essential education news delivered to your inbox.</em></p><p>On a recent Friday at Gary Comer Middle School in Chicago, you had to squint to see signs of the pandemic that upended American education just a few years ago.</p><p>Only a handful of students wore face masks, and even then, some put them on to cover up pimples, staff said. The hand sanitizer stations outside every classroom mostly went unused, and some were empty. Students stopped to hug in the hallway and ate lunch side by side in the cafeteria.&nbsp;</p><p>“I don’t think it’s a big deal as much as it was before,” said 12-year-old Evelyn Harris, an eighth grader at Comer, whose lasting memory of pandemic schooling is that online classes were easier, so she got better grades. “The pandemic didn’t really affect me in a big way.”</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/TKjETpTmBbe7SCdlDZBj9TG1iR0=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/DWOIY5AYNZFLNFRHP3HWSTQRBE.jpg" alt="Students are released from classes to attend a club sign-up event at Comer Middle School." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Students are released from classes to attend a club sign-up event at Comer Middle School.</figcaption></figure><p>But inside Nikhil Bhatia’s classroom, the evidence was on the whiteboard, where the math teacher was shading in slices of a pie to illustrate how to find a common denominator. That day, his seventh graders were working to add and subtract fractions — a skill students usually learn in fourth grade.</p><p>Maybe you learned this before, Bhatia began. “Or, during the pandemic, you might have <em>been on Zoom</em>,” — a few students laughed as he dragged out the words — “put your screen on black, went to go play a couple video games. Snap if that sounds familiar?”</p><p>Clicking fingers filled the room. “That’s OK!” Bhatia responded. “That’s why we’re going to do the review.”</p><p>As the new school year begins at Comer and elsewhere, many students and educators say school is feeling more normal than it has in over three years. COVID health precautions have all but vanished. There’s less social awkwardness. Students say they’re over the novelty of seeing their classmates in person.</p><p>But beneath the surface, profound pandemic-era consequences persist. More students are missing school, and educators are scrambling to keep kids engaged in class. Many students remain behind academically, leaving teachers like Bhatia to fill in gaps even while trying to move students forward. Rebuilding students’ shaken confidence in their abilities is especially important right now.</p><p>“It’s OK that you don’t know this,” Bhatia tells his students. “It’s normal right now.”</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/zBLdJPK7yG8V7wA5HWNt5zl0LL8=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/YFKXCHR4XZFFZF5CBLUNFIKKNE.jpg" alt="Hands are raised as Nikhil Bhatia teaches a math lesson at Comer Middle School." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Hands are raised as Nikhil Bhatia teaches a math lesson at Comer Middle School.</figcaption></figure><p>Nationally, <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/24/23417139/naep-test-scores-pandemic-school-reopening">many students</a> remain <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/21/23767632/naep-math-reading-learning-loss-covid-long-term-trend">far behind in math and reading</a> where they would have been if not for the pandemic. There have been <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/7/19/23269210/learning-loss-recovery-data-nwea-pandemic">especially steep learning drops</a> at schools that taught virtually for most of the 2020-21 school year, as schools did across Chicago and within the Noble charter network, which includes Comer. It’s an issue that’s even more pressing for older students, who have less time to fill in those holes.</p><p>At Comer, 28% of eighth graders met or exceeded Illinois math standards the year before the pandemic, not far off from the state’s average of 33%. But by spring 2022, that had fallen to just 2%, compared with 23% for the state.&nbsp;</p><p>In reading, meanwhile, 9% of Comer eighth graders met or exceeded state standards pre-pandemic, and that dipped to 4% in spring 2022, when the state’s average was 30%.&nbsp;</p><p>The school made gains they’re proud of last school year, with 10% of eighth graders hitting the state’s bar for math and 22% hitting it for reading, though school leaders say they know there is still work to be done.</p><p>“If you don’t have some foundational skills and basic skills, it will be almost impossible to keep up with the curriculum as the kids get older,” said Mary Avalos, a research professor of teaching and learning at the University of Miami, <a href="https://www.air.org/covid-19-and-equity-education-research-practice-partnership-network#miami">who has studied</a> how COVID affected middle school teachers. “That’s a big issue that needs to be addressed.”</p><h2>How teachers are addressing pandemic learning gaps</h2><p>Most of Bhatia’s students missed key skills in fourth and fifth grades — the years that school was remote, then interrupted by waves of COVID — but they mastered more advanced concepts in sixth grade last year.</p><p>That’s left Bhatia, like many teachers across the country, with the tricky task of coming up with mini lessons to fill in those elementary gaps, without spending so much time on prior concepts that students fall behind in middle school.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/qdwVNOCzBbVJ2OAYM9c9BRMm3uI=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/JF5NGLNPNVAPJE23VVNZPHZNSU.jpg" alt="Ja’liyah Pope, 12, listens during a math lesson in Nikhil Bhatia’s class at Comer Middle School. " height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Ja’liyah Pope, 12, listens during a math lesson in Nikhil Bhatia’s class at Comer Middle School. </figcaption></figure><p>On a day like Friday, that meant to get students ready to add negative fractions, a seventh grade skill, Bhatia first had to teach a short lesson on adding fractions, a fourth grade skill. At first, some students mistakenly thought they should use the technique for dividing fractions they learned last year.</p><p>“They’ll say: ‘Oh is this keep, change, flip’?” Bhatia said. “The gap isn’t exactly what you would expect it to be.”&nbsp;</p><p>This kind of teaching happened “once in a while” pre-pandemic, Bhatia said, but “now it’s like day by day I have to be really critical in thinking about: ‘OK what might be the gap that surfaces today?’”</p><p>Aubria Myers, who teaches sixth grade English at Comer, sees ways the familiar rhythms of school are just now returning, four months after federal health officials <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/end-of-phe.html">declared an official end</a> to the COVID-19 emergency.</p><p>“This year, for me, feels the most normal,” Myers said. Students are saying: “Oh wait, what’s the homework again, can I get another copy?” she said. Last year when she mentioned homework, “they were like: ‘What is that?’”</p><p>On that recent Friday, Myers led an activity in her multicultural literature class that would have been impossible two years ago when students had to stay seated in pods of color-coded desks.&nbsp;</p><p>Her sixth graders huddled close to one another as they tried to hop across the classroom, an exercise designed to give her fidgety students a chance to move around, while exemplifying the communication and teamwork skills that would be at the center of <em>Seedfolks</em>, the novel they were about to read in class.</p><p>Still, Myers had chosen the book, with its short chapters and lines full of metaphors and irony, to meet the needs of this crop of sixth graders, who spent all of third grade learning online. Many, Myers knows, never logged on. They have shorter attention spans and doubts about their reading skills but love class discussions, she said.</p><p>“They remember that time in their life when they were stuck talking to only people in their house,” Myers said. “They’re in class wanting to engage with each other.”</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/0rDdlMopJspJdq_7w8wZgR3EJB4=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/5KKVTF2T45CM5F65Y5LGK47W3I.jpg" alt="Aubria Myers teaches an English lesson at Comer Middle School." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Aubria Myers teaches an English lesson at Comer Middle School.</figcaption></figure><p>Myers has tried to prevent her students from getting discouraged by their learning gaps. At the start of this school year, for example, she’s pointing out spelling and punctuation errors, but not docking points yet. She wants to make sure her students first have time to learn some of the key skills they missed in earlier grades.</p><p>“We have kids who don’t understand how to put a period somewhere in your sentence, or how to put spaces between their words,” Myers said. “I see these very beautifully strung together ideas, these really well thought-out explanations, but they’re missing some of those key mechanics.”</p><h2>Student mental health and engagement still top of mind</h2><p>Comer has responded to students’ post-pandemic needs in other ways, too. The school expanded its team of social workers and other staff who work with students to resolve conflicts and address mental health needs, a <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/11/18/23465030/youth-mental-health-crisis-school-staff-psychologist-counselor-social-worker-shortage">trend that’s been observed nationwide</a>.</p><p>The school has long felt the effects of neighborhood gun violence and student trauma, but staff say having more adults focused on those issues has helped students open up and seek help. Now, more students are requesting verbal mediations to head off physical fights, staff say.</p><p>“If you follow us through the building, you’ll see,” said Stephanie Williams, a former reading teacher who now directs Comer’s social and emotional learning team. “Kids will seek you out, or find you, and let you know: ‘Hey, I need this.’”</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/s51dLn5X1rDjdjZ53w7QVO8dYNA=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/LERW3JXORFGJTL45V3IVRL3HC4.jpg" alt="On left, a student plays chess during a club sign-up event at Comer Middle School. On right, students start their English class with Aubria Myers by reading." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>On left, a student plays chess during a club sign-up event at Comer Middle School. On right, students start their English class with Aubria Myers by reading.</figcaption></figure><p>And this is the second year the school has scheduled all core classes earlier in the week, so that students can spend part of Friday practicing math and reading skills on the computer, and the rest of the day taking two special electives. It’s a strategy meant to keep students engaged — and showing up to school.</p><p>The school offers classes that pique students’ interests, such as the history of hip hop, hair braiding, and creative writing. Brandon Hall, a seventh grader at Comer, blended his first smoothie in a “foodies” class and bonded with his basketball coach through chess. He came to see similarities between making plays on the court and moving pawns across the board.</p><p>“I learned a lot from him,” he said.</p><p>On “Freedom Fridays,” attendance is higher and student conflicts are rarer, school officials say. That’s been important as the school, <a href="https://projects.apnews.com/features/2023/missing-students-chronic-absenteeism/index.html">like many others</a>, has seen higher chronic absenteeism rates over the last two years. At Comer, 1 in 3 sixth graders missed 18 or more days of school last year. Before the pandemic, that number sat closer to 1 in 5.</p><p>The approach runs counter to the calls some education experts have made for schools to double down on academics and add more instructional time — not take it away.&nbsp;</p><p>A recent <a href="https://crpe.org/wp-content/uploads/The-State-of-the-American-Student-2023.pdf">report</a> by the Center on Reinventing Public Education, for example, spells out the numerous ways students are still struggling, and calls for “a greater urgency to address learning gaps before students graduate.” Harvard education researcher Thomas Kane noted that <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/3/23/22992779/learning-loss-school-extended-day-year">few districts</a> have lengthened the school day or year and warned that, “The academic recovery effort following the pandemic has been undersized from the beginning.”</p><p>But JuDonne Hemingway, the principal of Comer, said devoting time to enrichment activities during the school day is worth it to ensure all students have access to them. These classes, she added, are helping students develop interests they may pursue in college or as part of a career.</p><p>“They’re not just random experiences for kids,” Hemingway said. “We think they are just as important as any traditional academic class.”</p><p><em>Kalyn Belsha is a senior national education reporter based in Chicago. Contact her at kbelsha@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/20/23882691/pandemic-learning-loss-academic-recovery-noble-chicago-middle-school/Kalyn Belsha2023-09-19T22:36:53+00:002023-09-19T18:36:59+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Chicago’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with the city’s public school system and statewide education policy. &nbsp;</em></p><p>At Wendell Green Elementary School on Chicago’s South Side, three girls studied a subtraction problem on the dry erase board. The answer would tell their combined third and fourth grade class how many rooms were vacant in an imaginary hotel.</p><p>How much is 224 minus 176?</p><p>The girls quickly realized they had to subtract seven from two in the middle column. How’s that possible if seven is bigger than two?</p><p>“What’s our saying?” their teacher asked, directing them to a chart on the other side of the room that listed rules for long subtraction.</p><p>“More on the top, no need to stop,” the girls said, reading the chart.&nbsp;</p><p>Did this match their situation, their teacher asked? No, the girls replied.</p><p>“So, what do we say?” the teacher said.&nbsp;</p><p>“More on the floor, go next door to get ten more,” the girls said in unison — referring to the borrowing rule of long subtraction.&nbsp;</p><p>This scene on Tuesday was one example of how Green’s teachers walk students through complicated lessons — and how doing so has helped boost state test scores at the school, said the school’s principal, Tyrone Dowdell.&nbsp;At Green, math pass rates grew from 5.5% in 2019 to 9.4% in 2023, and reading pass rates nearly tripled in that time.</p><p>Green is not the only school to show improvement. More elementary-aged students in Chicago Public Schools met state reading and math standards on the 2023 Illinois Assessment of Readiness than did the previous school year, according to official data revealed Tuesday.</p><p>But the numbers citywide for third through eighth graders have still not reached pre-pandemic levels at most schools.&nbsp;</p><p>Of nearly 500 elementary schools in CPS, nearly 200 schools — including Green — saw the portion of students who met reading standards on the 2023 state test match or surpass the portion who met them in 2019, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of district data. For math, just over 50 schools saw a return to pre-pandemic levels. Most schools saw improvements over their results from the 2021-22 school year.&nbsp;</p><p>Overall, about 26% of students met or exceeded reading standards on the 2023 test, compared with 27.3% in 2019. For math, 17.5% of students passed, compared with 23.6% in 2019.&nbsp;</p><p>The Illinois Assessment of Readiness is required for all third through eighth grade students and administered every spring. The test was <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2020/8/19/21376584/test-cancellations-will-leave-a-big-hole-in-illinois-scorecard-for-schools">cancelled in 2020</a>, as schools shut down amid the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The following year, after a year of virtual and hybrid learning, the percentage of students who met or exceeded standards <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/6/16/23170206/chicago-public-school-illinois-assessment-readiness-spring-preliminary-scores-pandemic-fallout">dropped across the board in both reading and math</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>On Tuesday, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez noted that “progress does not happen overnight,” but called the new data “extremely promising” while at Green to announce the test score results.</p><p>The data mirrors what <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/3/23817681/chicago-public-schools-illinois-assessment-readiness">Chalkbeat reported in August</a> after obtaining an early look at districtwide results. The numbers unveiled Tuesday show school-level data, which includes more detailed test score information by grade.&nbsp;</p><p><div id="qRx0Tl" class="embed"><iframe title="Find your school's IAR results" aria-label="Table" id="datawrapper-chart-R9cqh" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/R9cqh/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="733" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}(); </script></div></p><p>The test results were “evidence that our strategies are working,” Martinez told reporters. In a press release, officials noted “strong growth” among Asian American and Black students. Still, disparities remain.&nbsp;</p><p>For reading, more Asian American, multiracial, and white students met or exceeded standards than Hispanic and Black students. Math scores showed similar results, but greater gulfs.&nbsp;</p><p>Fewer students with disabilities, those learning English as a new language, and those who are from low-income households met or exceeded standards as well.&nbsp;</p><p><div id="40rVIc" class="embed"><iframe title="2023 IAR scores by student group" aria-label="Split Bars" id="datawrapper-chart-iPOmv" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/iPOmv/4/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="575" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}(); </script></div></p><p>Martinez and Bogdana Chkoumbova, the district’s chief education officer, touted several financial investments the district has made for classrooms, including adding counselors and <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/25/23729023/chicago-public-schools-academic-interventionist-covid-learning-recovery">interventionists to catch students up after COVID.</a> But many of those investments depend on federal COVID relief dollars, which expire in 2024.&nbsp;</p><p>Asked if the district plans to continue investing in those programs, Martinez said he will use test score growth as one way to “make the case” to state lawmakers to boost funding even further for Chicago Public Schools.&nbsp;</p><p>Paul Zavitkovsky, an assessment specialist at the Center for Urban Education Leadership at the University of Illinois Chicago, said the scores of third graders are a bellwether for the district.&nbsp;</p><p>“A lot of the gas that goes into the tank for fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade comes from the foundation of stuff that kids are bringing with them coming out of third grade,” Zavitkovsky said, noting that this year’s third graders were in kindergarten when the pandemic hit.&nbsp;</p><p>On reading, 19.7% of Chicago third graders met or exceeded standards on the 2023 test, while nearly 21% of them passed math.&nbsp;</p><p>Martinez said CPS, like other districts, is <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/24/23417139/naep-test-scores-pandemic-school-reopening">facing challenges in math achievement.</a> Many of the district’s coaches and tutors focus on literacy, but the district is now thinking about how they can provide more support in math instruction, Chkoumbova said.&nbsp;</p><p>At Green Elementary, nearly one-third of students met or exceeded reading standards, and just over 9% passed math.&nbsp;</p><p>The school hired a coach who helps teachers use data, such as from test scores, to develop the best strategies in classrooms. Dowdell, the principal, also believes the school’s growth came out of an increased focus on writing and using specific vocabulary words from state standards in class.&nbsp;</p><p>Dowdell said students are learning how to problem-solve together. He pointed to the girls who worked through the problem during math class as a moment of “authentic struggle.”&nbsp;</p><p>It’s one of the strategies, Zavitkovsky noted, that’s been helping schools bounce back from the pandemic.&nbsp;</p><p>“Part of learning is that you’ve got to struggle with stuff that you don’t get right away, and a good way to do that struggling is to link up with other people so you can do that struggling together… and come out the other end feeling smarter, and more confident,” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>It’s a strategy the district could use as it continues the <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/3/19/22983067/covid-schools-toll-remote-teachers-students-absences-learning-loss-graduation-rates">difficult work of recovery</a>.</p><p>“We’ve got some serious challenges,” Zavitkovsky said. “But this is an opportunity for us to really push ourselves.”</p><p><em>Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at </em><a href="mailto:ramin@chalkbeat.org"><em>ramin@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.&nbsp;</em></p><p><em>Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at </em><a href="mailto:bvevea@chalkbeat.org"><em>bvevea@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>. </em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/9/19/23880833/chicago-public-schools-2023-test-scores-reading-math-state-standards-iar/Reema Amin, Becky Vevea2023-09-18T10:30:00+00:002023-09-18T10:30:00+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Chicago’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with the city’s public school system and statewide education policy. </em>&nbsp;</p><p>A. Philip Randolph Elementary School parent Victoria Wicks has hair as vibrant as her personality. Last week it was colored a bright teal, but she changes it up frequently — sometimes picking a color requested by the students she tutors.</p><p>The mother of eight, with children ranging in age from 10 months to 16 and including twins, is deeply involved at Randolph in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood on the South Side. Six of Wicks’ children currently attend the school and she’s on two parent councils.&nbsp;</p><p>On a recent Friday, Wicks sat across the table from a student and gave instructions in a practiced, serious tone. This exercise would assess what level of tutoring the girl would be placed into for the rest of the school year.</p><p>Once the reading of passages and sight words was over, Wicks let her nature shine to the fullest, telling a student, “Good job! That’s what I’m talking about!”</p><p>Wicks became a tutor during summer 2021, when a fellow parent invited her to join Randolph’s contingent of the <a href="https://www.cps.edu/campaigns/tutor-corps/">Chicago Public Schools Tutor Corps</a>. The district had earmarked $25 million in federal pandemic relief money to hire and train 850 tutors to help kids catch up on much-needed early reading and middle- to high-school math skills.&nbsp;</p><p>Wicks took on the job of reading tutor with her trademark enthusiasm, rehearsing how to teach the lessons and give assessments, using the curriculum provided. She found success helping her tutoring groups read better.&nbsp;</p><p>But across the district, the corps got off to a <a href="https://chicagounheard.org/blog/slow-start-for-cps-tutor-corps/">slow start</a>. Only 450 tutors were hired by halfway through the 2021-22 school year. Onboarding was slow and it took a few months to get the curriculum providers — <a href="https://amplify.com/">Amplify</a> for reading, <a href="https://saga.org/">Saga Education</a> for math — under contract and training tutors.</p><p>Since then, the number of tutors has grown. On the first day of school, CPS had more than 600 tutors, about three-quarters of <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/9/27/22697432/tutoring-pandemic-recruitment-challenges">the initial hiring goal of 850</a>. Currently, tutors are working in 229 schools, but the district declined a request to provide a list of the schools and their locations.&nbsp;</p><p>A summer hiring push helped schools, including Randolph, staff up, some principals said. But this school year marks the final year the district will have federal COVID relief funds to spend on tutors before the dollars run dry next fall.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><h2>Chicago’s tutoring is high-quality but small scale</h2><p>According to district officials, Tutor Corps has reached 10,000 students with at least one tutoring session since its 2021 launch. Like many districts nationwide, Chicago’s program aimed to provide students “high-dosage” tutoring, which means students meet in a group of no more than four with the same tutor over an extended period of time, like a semester or a full school year. The intensive sessions are 30 minutes during the school day, at least three times a week.&nbsp;</p><p>The tutors must be trained to use a structured curriculum that can meet students where they are and offer lots of chances to practice the skills they are learning. Research shows this kind of tutoring benefits struggling students the most.</p><p>Meeting these exacting requirements can be tough. Other districts have struggled to make it work, but Chicago has stayed true to it from the beginning.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>At Randolph, tutors meet with no more than three students up to five times a week. Principal Keviyona Smith-Ray also makes sure tutors have time to meet with the teachers of the students they are tutoring.</p><p>“CPS is doing something we’re not really seeing across the United States,” said Maryellen Leneghan, vice president of district partnerships for Saga Education, which provides training and curriculum for the math tutors.&nbsp;</p><p>She said Chicago’s uniqueness is threefold: The district has chosen to keep tutoring fully in person, maintain control of tutor hiring, and balance strict adherence to the model with flexibility for schools.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“The number of students it has been able to help has been impressive,” said Becky Betts, chief marketing and external affairs officer for A Better Chicago, which has financially supported tutor hiring.&nbsp;</p><p>But 10,000 students is barely a drop in the bucket for a district of more than 300,000 students, said Natasha Dunn, a CPS parent and Black Community Collaborative co-founder.&nbsp;</p><p>Though data on the tutor corps’ effects has yet to be made public, a study from the University of Chicago’s Education Lab is expected later this school year.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><h2>While kids learn, schools develop teacher talent</h2><p>Like many tutors, Wicks had the same students all year last year and got to know them well, even attending a parent-teacher conference for one of them to show how much the child had progressed over the year.&nbsp;</p><p>As a parent herself, she has seen some of her own children grow as readers through tutoring, and she uses what she’s learning as a tutor to help them at home.&nbsp;</p><p>“Being with Tutor Corps helps them understand how to break down the words,” she said. ”When it’s time for them to go into that classroom and read, they’ll use the strategies we have taught them.”</p><p>Smith-Ray said the tutors are also building relationships with students beyond their academic sessions and helping them open up about tough issues in their lives.&nbsp;</p><p>She’s also seen an unexpected perk: Two of last year’s tutors have joined the permanent staff — one as a special education classroom assistant and the other as an office assistant.&nbsp;</p><p>“It’s an amazing opportunity to hire within the community,” said Smith-Ray. “The students want to be with them. They’re familiar with them.”</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/-asTisurqZPVHQdqmF-D5Ek9EMY=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/RFRJ6GOX6VDDNEZA7QT2TDPPXA.jpg" alt="The six tutors who are part of CPS Tutor Corps at Haugan Elementary in Chicago’s Albany Park. The school’s co-principal, Heather Yutzy, said the program has become a helpful hiring pipeline for the school." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>The six tutors who are part of CPS Tutor Corps at Haugan Elementary in Chicago’s Albany Park. The school’s co-principal, Heather Yutzy, said the program has become a helpful hiring pipeline for the school.</figcaption></figure><p>Across town, at Haugan Elementary in Chicago’s Albany Park, co-principal Heather Yutzy said Tutor Corps is becoming a “stepping stone” into teaching or other permanent jobs. At Haugan, one of last year’s tutors has moved into student teaching. That tutor’s younger sister, a recent graduate of Northeastern Illinois University, is now tutoring and planning a career change to go into teaching.&nbsp;</p><p>Northeastern is among a group of local colleges, led by Roosevelt University, that is creating a tutor-to-teacher pipeline. A Better Chicago awarded $1.6 million to Roosevelt University to build a tutoring pathway in partnership with other local higher ed institutions. According to A Better Chicago, about 65 Roosevelt students completed a full year of tutoring last year. Of them, seven Roosevelt students are moving into student teaching this year and another 10 students are expected to move into student teaching in fall 2024.</p><h2>Getting sold on the program and finding the money</h2><p>Though hard data on Tutor Corps’ effectiveness is not yet publicly available, tutors and principals can see early signs of progress on the ground.&nbsp;</p><p>Haugan parent Rita Tello joined the corps in the middle of last year as a math tutor. She has worked hard to help struggling middle schoolers see math as both challenging and fun.&nbsp;</p><p>Her groups broke into two-on-two teams to take Kahoot quizzes and play Jeopardy-style math games, often with a small prize for the winners.</p><p>Though not every student’s math grade improved, she could see growth based on their “exit slips” — a quick, weekly progress check — and a difference in their attitude toward math.&nbsp;</p><p>She said her students were skeptical of her and reluctant to do math at the start. But by the end of the year, she said, they were eager to come to tutoring. They would ask her, “Are you picking us up today? Are you picking us up tomorrow, Ms. Tello?”</p><p>At Randolph, Smith-Ray said one of the most obvious signs of improvement in math is that children know their multiplication facts fluently and no longer need a times table reference with them in classroom small groups.</p><p>She said the youngest students are the most likely to outgrow the need for tutoring quickly, because many of the entering kindergartners had little preschool experience with pre-reading skills to learn sounds and letters.&nbsp;</p><p>Smith-Ray added that tutoring has also helped identify students who need individualized education programs, or IEPs, for special education services and provided “clear data” to help case managers and teachers “make sure students were given what they needed.”&nbsp;</p><p>However, for most students, Smith-Ray said continued tutoring will be key, “[They] are meeting their growth targets. They’re just still not at grade level yet.”</p><p>Not all students see linear progress. Barbara Formoso Minarik is the grandmother of alumni of James Monroe Elementary in Logan Square and has been part of the Tutor Corps since it started. Over the past three school years, she has seen children bounce in and out of tutoring.</p><p>Formoso Minarik wonders if some of her students need more support than tutoring can offer, like a referral for special education services. But that’s not a quick fix. “It’s just a long process,” she said.</p><p>It’s also a long process for a school district to embed and sustain a program like Tutor Corps. It can take about five years, said Leneghan, with Saga Education.&nbsp;</p><p>“Every year you learn more and more and build your capacity,” she said.</p><p>Chicago, like districts nationwide, doesn’t have much more time. The federal deadline to spend COVID recovery money is next September.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>In a statement, the district said it “values this program and is exploring ways to continue providing these foundational services even after all federal [COVID]dollars are expended by September 2024.”&nbsp;</p><p>Whatever district officials decide, the principals at Randolph and Haugan want tutors like Wicks and Tello to continue their work.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;“If I had to use my budget, I would still keep Tutor Corps,” said Smith-Ray. “It may not be six people, maybe it’ll be four, but I would still employ them.”</p><p>Yutzy, the Haugan co-principal, is just as determined.&nbsp;</p><p>“I’m totally sold on this program,” she said. “I think it has been a 100% valuable experience.”</p><p><em>Maureen Kelleher is a freelance journalist and longtime education writer. For Chalkbeat, she has previously written First Person pieces about </em><a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2018/11/6/21106075/it-s-hard-to-leave-the-school-you-love-but-sometimes-it-s-necessary"><em>choosing a new school</em></a><em> for her daughter and helping </em><a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/23/23842869/chicago-migrant-student-enrollment-first-person"><em>migrant students enroll</em></a><em> in school.</em> <em>Kelleher is now the editorial director at </em><a href="https://www.future-ed.org/about/"><em>Future Ed</em></a><em>, an independent, solution-oriented think tank at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/9/18/23875659/chicago-public-schools-cps-tutor-corps-esser-covid-relief/Maureen Kelleher2023-09-14T22:09:29+00:002023-09-14T22:09:29+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with education news in Denver and around the state. &nbsp;</em></p><p>To recruit students to Hallett Academy, Principal Dominique Jefferson said she tells the truth.</p><p>“Here at Hallett, we will love your child into learning,” Jefferson said, sitting in her quiet office on a recent Friday morning. “That is the commitment I make to you. And I keep my word.”</p><p>Jefferson’s commitment was clear as she moved through the hallways in a tutu, greeting students by name and opening her arms wide. At a weekly assembly in the gym, she offered a squeezy hug to each of the 289 children who wanted one before she led the entire school in a lesson about self-care, one of Hallett’s school-wide expectations.</p><p>The Friday before, she’d handed out green cupcakes — a celebration of the fact that for the first time in nearly a decade, Hallett earned the state’s highest school rating, signified by the color green, based on student progress on state tests taken this past spring.</p><p>“Life is hard for the children who look like me,” Jefferson said. “I am just committed to making sure that when they come to school every day that they experience freedom. And they are reminded of the power that they have.”</p><p>Jefferson is Black, as are 71% of Hallett students in kindergarten through fifth grade. That high proportion makes Hallett unique in Denver Public Schools, where just 14% of students are Black.</p><p>Every single student must choose to attend Hallett. That’s because the school is one of just a few Denver district-run schools without an enrollment boundary that directs neighborhood children there, a circumstance that several families said is both a blessing and a curse.&nbsp;</p><p>It’s a blessing because that intentionality is part of Hallett’s magic, they said. But it’s a curse because as lower birth rates and high housing costs <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/11/9/23450225/takeaways-enrollment-analysis-schools-closing-jeffco-denver-aurora-census-data">drive down enrollment in DPS districtwide</a>, small elementary schools like Hallett are at risk for closure.</p><p>Hallett has been closed before. In 2008, Hallett was one of eight DPS schools closed for low enrollment. The building, which is located in the historically Black neighborhood of Park Hill, reopened as the new home for a public magnet school, Knight Fundamental Academy.&nbsp;</p><p>Omar D. Blair, the first Black DPS school board president, helped start Knight in the early 1980s. It focused on “structured, stay-in-your-seat learning,” and posted high test scores, according to newspaper reports from the time. At Hallett, the school was renamed Hallett Fundamental Academy. As a magnet school, Hallett no longer had a boundary.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/7GE0Pf0PHNSTkBy2gn6VOTu1_Rk=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/Z5QRMXA57FEBNLXKI34F7KHUT4.jpg" alt="Hallett Academy Principal Dominique Jefferson, in the black tutu, raises her hand as a signal for students to quiet down during a schoolwide assembly." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Hallett Academy Principal Dominique Jefferson, in the black tutu, raises her hand as a signal for students to quiet down during a schoolwide assembly.</figcaption></figure><h2>Bringing healing and restoration</h2><p>When Jefferson became principal of Hallett seven years ago, one of the first things she did was rebrand the school and remove “fundamental” from its name. A few years before, Hallett had been publicly accused of cheating on standardized tests. The former principal was put on leave while the state investigated Hallett’s high scores, which had earned the school a green rating.&nbsp;</p><p>The investigation turned up no wrongdoing; Hallett students and staff hadn’t cheated. But it wounded the community, Jefferson said. When she arrived, the school was rated red.&nbsp;</p><p>“I made it my responsibility to bring healing and restoration,” Jefferson said. “I remember them being slandered and never receiving a ‘sorry.’”</p><p>To accomplish her goal, Jefferson didn’t focus on curriculum or schedule changes, or stricter rules for teachers or students, as many schools do in their attempts to boost academic performance. Her strategy was much simpler.</p><p>“In short,” she said, “I hired well.”</p><p>When interviewing job candidates, Jefferson said she doesn’t require a certain background or set of skills. She listens. She waits to hear candidates say they believe all children can learn and achieve. That when children are at school, 100% of the responsibility for their success rests with their teachers, regardless of what’s going on at home. And that the candidates feel called to work at Hallett, just as Jefferson did, even if they can’t pinpoint why.</p><p>“I wait to hear potential team members say things like, ‘This may sound strange, but I just think I’m supposed to be here,’” Jefferson said.</p><p>That’s how kindergarten teacher Joy Wills felt when she visited Hallett at the end of last school year. Wills was a teacher in a neighboring district who knew Jefferson from years ago but had no intention of leaving her job. The visit — to a school with predominantly Black students in a historically Black neighborhood — changed her mind, Wills said.</p><p>“It was great to have that sense of home community that I haven’t had since I’ve been here in Denver,” said Wills, who is from Chicago.</p><p>Hallett’s staff is diverse, and Jefferson said that she’s proud that the adult population at Hallett mirrors the student population. “If you are a white boy student, there are teachers who are white and male that you will see at least once a week,” Jefferson said. “If you are a multiracial girl, you will see, ‘Here are three multiracial folks. They look just like you.’”</p><p>At the assembly Friday, the entire school played a game called “Just Like Me.”</p><p>“If you have your hair in braids, you would stand up,” Jefferson explained to the students and staff. “And you would say, ‘Just like me!’ On the count of three: One, two, three.”</p><p>“Just like me!” the students and staff said over and over again in response to questions about whether they were left-handed, an only child, or if summer was their favorite season.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/0czKzID2JEE3rdzXoMCD2xGXPZQ=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/7AE2GZCF2FFEDJLQT6O63YCW6Y.jpg" alt="Hallett Academy students hug Principal Dominique Jefferson in the hallway." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Hallett Academy students hug Principal Dominique Jefferson in the hallway.</figcaption></figure><h2>‘Children are loved here’</h2><p>The cultural mirror is one of many aspects of Hallett that parents said they appreciate.</p><p>“They just do a lot to make every kid feel seen throughout the day,” said parent Amy Martinez, who described her family as multiracial: She is white, her husband is Mexican, and their first grade daughter Jaliyah is Black. “They instill that pride in the students.”</p><p>Parent Emily Nelson said that when she and her husband were looking for a school for their children, who are biracial, she was struck by how the staff at Hallett interacted with the students.&nbsp;</p><p>“That was probably the biggest thing, just to walk through the hallways and hear peace,” Nelson said. “Before looking at test scores or any of that, I looked at how the children were acting. The self-esteem was something I was looking for, of just fostering strong humans.”</p><p>Parents credit Jefferson with creating that atmosphere. Faith and advocacy are a big part of how she’s gotten there. When DPS tried to change Hallett’s start time this fall from 9 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. as part of <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/5/20/22446726/denver-public-schools-later-middle-high-school-start-times">a districtwide policy</a> to have elementary schools start earlier and middle and high schools start later, Jefferson and the parents successfully pushed back.&nbsp;</p><p>Families come to Hallett from all over the metro area, driving up to 45 minutes from Lafayette to the north and Castle Rock to the south, Jefferson said. Starting school an hour and a half earlier would have made that journey untenable for many families.&nbsp;</p><p>When DPS predicted Hallett’s enrollment would dip to just 171 students in kindergarten through fifth grade this year, necessitating that Jefferson cut $697,000 — the equivalent of six and a half teachers — from the school’s budget, she decided to do something district staff told her was impossible: request DPS supplement her budget by the full $697,000.</p><p>But Superintendent Alex Marrero said yes, and then Hallett proved the predictions wrong: When school started, 225 students in kindergarten through fifth grade showed up. The school also has 64 preschool students, though preschool is funded separately.</p><p>As Jefferson sees it, the last barrier is Hallett’s lack of a boundary. Having a boundary could boost the school’s enrollment and ensure Hallett stays off any future school closure lists.</p><p>She’s holding out hope that DPS will restore the boundary, just as she had faith that Hallett would restore its green rating. After years of red ratings, the state’s lowest, and no rating last year because not enough Hallett students took the state standardized tests, Jefferson began telling everyone that Hallett would rocket to the top of the ratings chart this year.&nbsp;</p><p>Before third, fourth, and fifth graders took the state tests known as CMAS this past spring, Jefferson wrote each of them a personalized postcard.</p><p>“You are an extraordinary human, blooming in boldness, speaking your truth,” she wrote to Nelson’s daughter Gianna, who was in fourth grade last year. “CMAS starts soon. Show up and do your very best because you can and you are more than capable.”</p><p>The postcard is still hanging on the Nelsons’ fridge. While Nelson said test scores were never most important to her, the green rating is a public testament to the environment at Hallett.</p><p>Jefferson feels similarly.</p><p>“What I want folks to know is that children are loved here, that they are seen, that they are thriving, and we are a mystical, magical community in that whether or not we’ve been given what we need, we always have what we need,” she said.&nbsp;</p><p>“That’s what I want folks to know. And now they’re starting to know.”&nbsp;</p><p><em>Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at </em><a href="mailto:masmar@chalkbeat.org"><em>masmar@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/9/14/23874213/hallett-academy-denver-black-excellence-test-scores-green-rating/Melanie Asmar2023-09-14T15:02:29+00:002023-09-13T23:34:10+00:00<p>State Board members Wednesday expressed concern that Adams 14 has not yet resumed work with a partner helping with improvement efforts, even as some also praised achievements that have already been made.</p><p>Adams 14, a school district north of Denver, has had the most years of low performance ratings of any other in the state. Because of those continued low ratings, the State Board of Education last year ordered the district to work with a partial manager on its improvement plan.&nbsp;</p><p>The state had also ordered the district to begin reorganization, which could have closed schools or split up the district, but has since cleared Adams 14 of that obligation.</p><p>The district signed a contract to work <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/6/27/23185733/tntp-adams-14-school-district-contract-external-management-colorado-state-board-orders">with New York-based nonprofit TNTP, formerly called the New Teacher Project, for three years</a> on things like teacher training, coaching of leaders, and reviewing employee policies. But last month, after one year of the contract, the district and TNTP paused the work, unable to reach a new agreement for how the work in the second year should go.&nbsp;</p><p>In an update to the State Board Wednesday, Colorado Department of Education staff told the board that the pause has not been as disruptive as when the district also <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/10/6/22713683/adams-14-parents-staff-react-accreditation-loss">stopped its work with the previous external manager</a>, MGT Consulting. Some professional learning planned for schools was put on hold, but the pause was less disruptive because TNTP did not hold district administration positions the way MGT had, staff told the State Board.</p><p>Still, State Board member Karla Esser said she was concerned that this pause in the work meant more inconsistency in a district that has had a lot.&nbsp;</p><p>“It feels to me very disruptive to be on this path,” Esser said. “It’s very disappointing.”</p><p>District leaders have pointed to budget problems as a reason for needing to scale back.</p><p>State Board member Steve Durham pressed department staff for more details on where the disagreements were, and whether they had to do with how much authority or control each party had.</p><p>Staff said they had not heard any discussions or disagreements about that.</p><p>“It was more about the scope and where we’re reducing services and what outcomes can we expect with TNTP expressing some concern,” said Lindsey Jaeckel, executive director of school and district transformation. “We didn’t hear a discussion over authority. We’ve seen them work collaboratively.”</p><p>In an effort to help pay for the contract, the Colorado Department of Education has agreed to give the district more money than it planned this year. Instead of the expected $850,000 in grants for its improvement work, the state will offer an extra $350,000, for a total of $1.2 million. But an agreement has still not been reached.&nbsp;</p><p>A vote on a TNTP contract was on the agenda of the Adams 14 school board meeting on Tuesday night. The board instead tabled the item.</p><p><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/6/27/23185733/tntp-adams-14-school-district-contract-external-management-colorado-state-board-orders">The contract with TNTP originally</a> called for $5 million over three years, with the cost going up slightly in the second year. From September through June this school year, the district was to have paid TNTP $1.8 million, up from $1.6 million it paid in the last year.</p><p>State Board member Kathy Plomer thanked department staff for their work with the district. She said that while people may want to see “astronomical growth,” the smaller improvements the district is making are good news.</p><p>“For a district that’s struggled for so long, I’m encouraged,” Plomer said.</p><p>“We are all eager for this work to continue,” Andy Swanson, director of accountability pathways for the Colorado Department of Education told the State Board. “I think we’re hopeful this resolves sooner rather than later.”</p><p>Department staff told the State Board that depending on the agreement the district might reach with TNTP, a request for an amendment to the State Board improvement order may come next month.</p><p><em>Correction: Due to an editing error, this article incorrectly identified State Board member Karla Esser as representing the Adams 14 school district. The article has been updated to remove the reference.</em></p><p><em>Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at yrobles@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/9/13/23872771/adams-14-state-board-concerned-pause-discusses-tntp-negotiations/Yesenia Robles2023-09-13T21:42:38+00:002023-09-13T21:42:38+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with NYC’s public schools.</em></p><p>New York City families can now see their students’ state test scores from the last school year, though broader data has yet to be released.</p><p>The individual scores, released Wednesday as the first full week of school is underway, come later than usual.&nbsp; A change to the state’s learning standards, which required an overhaul of the exams and scoring, <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/18/23799637/new-york-state-tests-reading-math-scores-academic-intervention-services">delayed the results</a>.</p><p>Every spring, schools administer standardized exams in reading and math to third through eighth grade students. The test scores offer one look at how students are faring.&nbsp;</p><p>The 2023 exams followed the “Next Generation Learning Standards,” which were established after revisions from the controversial Common Core. The new standards sought to clarify previously vague language, such as outlining specific theorems students had to learn in geometry.</p><p>Since it was the first time the new standards were used, state education officials had to develop new “cut scores,” or metrics used to measure student proficiency.&nbsp;</p><p>State officials have yet to release overall data for kids across the city or state. But schools Chancellor David Banks said <a href="https://abc7ny.com/david-banks-new-york-city-schools-chancellor-nyc-students/13777572/">the city’s test scores were up</a> in both reading and math during an appearance on ABC7.&nbsp;</p><p>State officials warned against interpreting the scores that were distributed Wednesday. They did not specify when they expect to release more comprehensive data, though noted teachers and principals had received reports over the summer on how their students performed on each test question.</p><p>The state’s Department of Education provided individual student test scores to districts and families for “programming and instructional services, as well as parent engagement,” Commissioner Betty Rosa said in a statement.</p><p>“After ensuring that all student results are accounted for and final data quality checks, the Department will release the aggregate data statewide by district, school, and other subgroups,” Rosa said. “As such, accurate inferences about how districts and the state are doing overall cannot be made until the data is finalized.”</p><p>The state Education Department also urged against making comparisons to prior years because the exams were changed to match the new learning standards.</p><p>“You wouldn’t compare your U.S. history class to your physics class, because it’s measuring something different,” said Zachary Warner, assistant commissioner of the department’s Office of State Assessment, in an interview last week.&nbsp;</p><p>“But with that said,” he added, “we do want people to look and say, ‘Are kids meeting the expectations of the learning standards?’ So you could look backwards and say, ‘Okay, on those standards, here’s how kids were doing. On the new standards, here’s how kids are doing.’”</p><p>Families can view their students’ test scores in their <a href="https://www.schoolsaccount.nyc/">NYC Schools Accounts.</a> (To set up their accounts, families need their child’s student identification number as well as an account creation code from their child’s school.)</p><p><em>Julian Shen-Berro is a reporter covering New York City. Contact him at jshen-berro@chalkbeat.org</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2023/9/13/23872580/new-york-state-test-scores-delay/Julian Shen-Berrokali9 / Getty Images2023-09-07T22:48:37+00:002023-09-07T22:48:37+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s free newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with the city’s public school system.</em></p><p>Some Philadelphia students are making minor gains in math, English, and science and are catching up to their pre-pandemic scores, according to <a href="https://static.chalkbeat.org/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24904589/Board_Meeting___PM_9.7_23.pdf">preliminary standardized test data</a> the district released Thursday.&nbsp;</p><p>While the increases are incremental — only a few percentage points in each category — and many students still have not reached proficiency, school leaders said they are hopeful they can keep up the momentum this school year and in the years to come.</p><p>According to early data from the 2022-23 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, or PSSA, students scoring “proficient” in math in grades 3-8, English in grade 3, and science in grades 4 and 8 increased from 2021-22, and students who scored “below basic” declined in those grades and subject levels.</p><p>“Students may not have reached … proficiency [yet] but they are moving in the right direction,” Jermaine Dawson, the district’s new deputy superintendent of academic services, told board members on Thursday. “We are catching up and we are closing the achievement gap in those areas.”</p><p>Superintendent Tony Watlington cautioned the final data — including a deeper look into disaggregated data sorted by race, gender, and grade level — would be coming in the late fall or early winter.</p><p>Board members expressed optimism that Philadelphia students may be making progress.</p><p>“Knowing that there are thousands of more students who are now proficient at math … that excites me,” Board President Reginald Streater said.&nbsp;</p><h2>English Language performance</h2><p>Third grade students — who have been under the national microscope as districts across the country<a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/21/23840526/science-of-reading-research-background-knowledge-schools-phonics"> confront the way they teach reading in their classrooms</a> — were given special attention in the district’s presentation on Thursday.</p><p>&nbsp;The percentage of grade 3 students who scored “proficient” or “advanced” on the English PSSA rose from 28.1% in 2021-22 to 31.3% in 2022-23 — an increase of 3.2 percentage points.</p><p>&nbsp;The percentage of grade 3 students who scored “below basic” on the PSSA ELA declined during that time period, from 38.2% to 30.3%.</p><p>&nbsp;According to the district’s data, the percentage of students in grades 3-8 who scored “proficient” or “advanced” on the English PSSA “remained stable,” dropping 0.3 percentage points from 34.4% in 2021-22 to 34.1% in 2022-23.</p><p>&nbsp;The percentage of students in grades 3-8 who scored “below basic” in ELA dropped from 28.2% to 25.4% between 2021-22 and 2022-23 — a decline of 2.8 percentage points.</p><p>Watlington said the district has committed to shifting schools towards implementing structured literacy, sometimes known as “the science of reading,” to students in the years to come and are looking to implement new curriculum in that vein next school year.</p><p>“We’re not saying that teachers have to take away academic creativity and freedom … but we have to draw the line in the sand and say all kids will have a rigorous and guaranteed viable curriculum,” Watlington said. “The best available in the United States.”</p><h2>Math performance</h2><p>Watlington also highlighted the <a href="https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/24/23806016/philadelphia-schools-reading-math-instructional-resources-new-curriculum-teachers-pandemic-aid">new math curriculum</a> that’s already being rolled out in classrooms citywide this week. He said he hopes those new materials will build on the gains reflected in the PSSA scores.</p><p>The percentage of students in grades 3-8 who scored “proficient” or “advanced” on the math PSSA rose from 16.5% in 2021-22 to 20.1% in 2022-23 — up 3.6 percentage points.</p><p>In 2022-23, 57.3% of students in grades 3-8 scored “below basic” on the math PSSA, down from 61.7% in 2021-22 — a decrease of 4.4 percentage points.</p><p>The percentage of grade 3 students who scored “proficient” or “advanced” on the math PSSA rose from 20.8% in 2021-22 to 26.0% in 2022-23 — a gain of 5.2 percentage points.</p><p>In 2022-23, 52.1% of grade 3 students were “below basic” on the math PSSA, down from 58.9% the previous year — 6.8 percentage points.</p><h2>Science performance</h2><p>The science portion of the PSSA is only given to students in grades 4 and 8. The district reported from 2021-22 to 2022-23, the percentage of students scoring “proficient” or “advanced” on that test increased from 37.1% to 40.5% — an increase of 3.4 percentage points.</p><h2>Still a long way to go</h2><p>To be sure, even with the gains, last year’s scores remain well below levels school officials said they’d like to see.&nbsp;</p><p>“We know we’re not where we need to be. We’re not even close to where we know the kids deserve to be,” Board Vice President Mallory Fix-Lopez said.</p><p>Tonya Wolford, the district’s chief of evaluation, research, and accountability, told board members it’s important to keep in mind, “students likely are not going from below basic to proficient in one year.” They’ll need more time, resources, and attention to catch up to their peers.</p><p>Philadelphia also didn’t see the<a href="https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/24/23416340/naep-philadelphia-reading-math-scores-covid-disruptions"> drastic “drop in performance” </a>during the pandemic from 2018-19 to 2021-22 that districts saw across the country and across the state, Wolford said. “But we’re still not back to pre pandemic levels.”</p><h2>What are they doing about it</h2><p>Dawson, Wolford and Watlington all pointed to their efforts to increase student attendance and implement some high-dosage tutoring through a pilot at six to eight schools this year.</p><p>Board member Joyce Wilkerson said the board would need to know more details about specific efforts that are working or not in schools across the city, especially as federal covid relief <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/6/23851143/covid-relief-schools-esser-spending-learning-loss">funding comes to an end </a>and dollars may need to be stretched.</p><p>“We’re going have to make some budget decisions in the next couple of months, and we’re going to need to know and in fairly specific ways what are we going to fund and what are we going to cut out,” Wilkerson said.</p><p><em>Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at </em><a href="mailto:csitrin@chalkbeat.org"><em>csitrin@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia/2023/9/7/23863759/philadelphia-schools-students-test-scores-gains-pssa-data/Carly SitrinCaroline Gutman for Chalkbeat2023-09-06T22:09:52+00:002023-09-06T22:09:52+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Chicago’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with the city’s public school system and statewide education policy. &nbsp;</em></p><p>About six years ago, Lori Zaimi’s daughter told her mom that another longtime friend was leaving their elementary school in Edgewater on the North Side. The friend’s apartment building, she explained, had been sold to someone who was going to renovate it.</p><p>Zaimi recognized the familiar story of gentrification, when higher-income families move into a working class neighborhood and drive up property values. She’d seen property demolitions and pricey single family housing go up across Edgewater, the formerly working class neighborhood where she grew up.</p><p>She has also seen the impact in her daughter’s school, where Zaimi became principal in 2015. These days, she said, rent is “unaffordable for many of our families.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>A decade ago, nearly 73% of students at the school, Helen C. Peirce School of International Studies, came from low-income households, according to district data. Last school year, that figure was just over 34%.&nbsp;</p><p>Zaimi’s school is not alone. Ten years ago, 85% of Chicago Public Schools students came from low-income households. Now, that figure is 73% — a 12 percentage point drop — according to district data from the 2022-23 school year. Chicago Public Schools considers a student “economically disadvantaged” if their family’s income is within 185% of the <a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines">federal poverty line</a>. This year, that threshold is $55,500 or less for a family of four.</p><p>The drop, experts say, is driven by several factors, including gentrification, population and enrollment shifts, as well as a potential dissatisfaction with district schools.</p><p>Even though the number of students from low-income families has dropped, nearly three-quarters of the district’s student body is still considered “economically disadvantaged.” But if the downward trend continues, Chicago schools could continue to see <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/9/23826279/chicago-schools-funding-enrollment-state-board">fewer dollars than expected from the state</a>, which funds districts in part by considering how many students from low-income families are enrolled.</p><p>For individual schools, such as Peirce, the decline has led to the loss of Title I money, federal dollars sent to schools with high shares of low-income students. But as the school has become more mixed-income, it has also become more racially diverse: Last school year, Peirce was 47% white and 32% Hispanic, compared to 17% white and 62% Hispanic 10 years ago.&nbsp;</p><p>As the district enrolls a smaller share of students from low-income households, Chicago’s schools continue to look different from how they did a decade ago, especially in rapidly changing neighborhoods. That shift raises questions about who schools are serving, how they should be resourced, and what the district — and the city — can do as it continues to lose students.</p><h2>Low-income drops happening across Chicago, but steeper in some neighborhoods </h2><p>Peirce is one of more than 200 schools that have seen their share of students from low-income families drop by more than the districtwide decline of 12 percentage points, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of the district’s public school enrollment data from the 2022-23 school year.</p><p>The analysis of the past decade also found:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>While overall enrollment has also fallen, it’s still outpaced by the loss of students from low-income families. The district enrolled 31% fewer students from low-income families than in 2013, as the district’s overall enrollment dipped by 20%.</li><li>When looking at neighborhoods, schools in Lincoln Square and Irving Park, on the North Side, and West Elsdon, on the Southwest Side, saw a median 20 percentage point drop or more in students from low-income households since 2013. That’s more than any other community area. </li><li>Nine of the top 10 schools that lost the largest shares of students from low-income households were located on the North Side, across gentrifying neighborhoods. </li><li>Half of them enrolled more children last school year than they did 10 years ago, bucking citywide trends.</li><li>On the opposite end of the spectrum, 73 schools saw increases in their share of students from low-income families. One-third are on the South and West sides — regions that have also lost the most residents between 1999 and 2020, <a href="https://uofi.app.box.com/s/rgf5h8oc8bnjq9ua2463oolvdj23qyun/file/970584591836">according to a 2022 report</a> from UIC.</li></ul><p>CPS officials use two methods to find out which students are from low-income households. They automatically count students who receive certain government aid meant for low-income families, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits. And they collect forms handed out at the start of the school year that ask families to report their income, which in the past helped the district determine students who qualified for free or reduced price lunch.&nbsp;</p><p>In 2014, CPS <a href="https://www.wbez.org/stories/free-lunch-for-all-in-chicago-public-schools-starts-in-september/4b6696cc-1522-4c3a-ad34-92f664d84c32">became eligible for the federal universal free meals</a> program for districts that serve at least 40% students from low-income families. With less pressure on schools to collect the forms, which are not mandatory, some have suggested that the district may be collecting fewer of them, potentially skewing the data about low-income families.&nbsp;</p><p>A CPS spokesperson said it could be “one of several reasons” behind the drop in the district’s share of low-income students. However, district officials declined to share the rate at which forms have been returned over the past decade, instead asking Chalkbeat to file an open records request for that information.&nbsp;</p><p>There’s some evidence that those forms do not get filled out, particularly among new students, said Elaine Allensworth, who studies education policy and is Lewis-Sebring Director of the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.&nbsp;</p><p>In the 2014-15 school year, 86% of preschoolers and 81% of kindergartners were listed as coming from low-income families, on par with children in other grades, district data show. The next school year, after the district became federally eligible for universal free lunch, around 62% of preschool and kindergarten students came from low-income families, while figures in older grades shifted just a couple percentage points from the previous year.&nbsp;</p><p>“That says to me new families that are coming into CPS are not signing up for free lunch,” Allensworth said, who added that population shifts are also a likely contributing factor.&nbsp;</p><p>The current data for early grades could also signal that CPS is likely to see its low-income population decline further. Last school year, nearly one-quarter of preschoolers and close to half of kindergarteners were from low-income families, compared to more than three-quarters of students in nearly all of the older grades.</p><p>Multiple principals told Chalkbeat they don’t believe missing paperwork is a big contributor — or that it is a factor at all — since their funding heavily relies on collecting those forms.&nbsp;</p><p>Another factor in the drop of low-income students could be a slight uptick in families seeking out private schools. Of Chicago’s low-income families, 10% were enrolled in private school in 2021 —&nbsp;an increase of 3 percentage points from 2019, according to an analysis of Census data by Jose Pacas, chief of data science and research at Kids First Chicago. That’s after little change since 2012, the last time there was a similar increase.</p><p>That coincides with the COVID pandemic when CPS switched to virtual learning, as well as the launch of Illinois’ tax credit scholarship program, which began in the 2018-19 school year. The program grants tax credits to people who fund scholarships for low-income students who want to attend private schools. That program is expected to <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/16/23726229/illinois-tax-credit-voucher-programs-funding-private-schools">sunset this year.</a>&nbsp;</p><p>Some low-income parents, like Blaire Flowers, say they’re frustrated with the lack of good school options available in the neighborhoods they can afford to live in. Her daughter takes two buses to a charter high school miles away from their home in Austin on the West Side because Flowers wasn’t able to find a school she liked in their own neighborhood.&nbsp;</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/OVKCxSzkScf12jgYWX8WQHuybGw=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/5UIZ3DCYHJFYNMTCCITWJJQLPU.jpg" alt="West Side parent Blaire Flowers, pictured in the center, is surrounded by four of her five children." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>West Side parent Blaire Flowers, pictured in the center, is surrounded by four of her five children.</figcaption></figure><p>The mother of five also fears that CPS won’t provide her 4-year-old son who has autism with an adequate education. She’s already struggled to secure bus transportation for him this year, and she’s heard frustrations from parents of older students with disabilities who have had trouble securing services they’re entitled to.</p><p>If Flowers left Chicago, she’d follow in the footsteps of many friends and family members, some who found the city too expensive, she said.</p><p>“Everyone I know, that I was close to, has left the city,” Flowers said.&nbsp;</p><h2>As neighborhoods gentrify, schools face stark choices</h2><p>The demographic changes in Chicago Public Schools are largely a reflection of a changing city, experts said.&nbsp;</p><p>From 2010 to 2020, Chicago’s population <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/8/12/22622062/chicago-census-2020-illinois-population-growth-decline-redistricting-racial-composition#:~:text=Overall%2C%20the%20city's%20population%20grew,nearly%207%25%20of%20its%20population.">grew by 2%.</a> The median household income also <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/american_community_survey_acs/cb12-r03.html">grew by</a> more than $20,000, <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/chicagocityillinois/LND110210">according to U.S. Census estimates.</a> But during that time, the school district saw enrollment decline by 60,000 students. In recent years, the city’s population <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-census-update-2023-20230518-i2de6f6oy5gsba3ahzgv2by2hq-story.html">has dipped by 3%, </a>driven in part by an exodus of working class families.</p><p>“The share of working class families in Chicago is decreasing with time, as its industry and economy shifts toward white collar jobs that skew upper class, college educated,” said William Scarborough, the lead author of the UIC report, who is now an associate professor of sociology at the University of North Texas.</p><p>School closings, including the <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/25/23806124/chicago-school-closings-2013-henson-elementary">mass closures under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel</a>, may have also pushed some working-class families to leave the city if they lost a beloved neighborhood school, Scarborough added. More people left the majority Black census tracts that experienced those 2013 school closures versus similar areas that did not, according to a <a href="https://graphics.suntimes.com/education/2023/chicagos-50-closed-schools/">WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times investigation</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>As schools lost students, some principals doubled down on enrolling the kids who lived in their neighborhood.</p><p>That’s what happened at Alexander Hamilton Elementary School in Lake View on the North Side, which saw one of the biggest drops in the share of students from low-income families. In 2013, Hamilton enrolled nearly 40% of children from low-income households, according to district data. That dropped to roughly 9% last school year.&nbsp;</p><p>James Gray, who was the principal from 2009-17, inherited an enrollment crisis when he took over Hamilton, which <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/archive/6675416/">had narrowly escaped closure</a>. The school enrolled 243 students when he arrived – roughly half of the almost 500 it served in 1999.&nbsp; He <a href="https://www.wbez.org/stories/schools-struggle-to-sell-themselves/79c055d8-69d8-46b4-8536-fde40dc5cfcf">set out </a>on what he called a “guerrilla effort” to sign up more neighborhood children, offering tours of the school, hosting weekend events and open houses, and even venturing to the park to chat up parents of toddlers — or potential future students.&nbsp;</p><p>Gray was successful. By the time he left, enrollment <a href="https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20161221/lakeview/james-gray-hamilton-principal-leaving/">had</a> jumped back up to about 480 students. He noticed that his students were increasingly coming from wealthier families. They were also more white. But that’s who lived in the neighborhood.&nbsp;</p><p>In 2013, the school was 47% white, 12% Black, 30% Hispanic and 4% Asian. Last school year, 73% of students were white — on par with the <a href="https://www.cmap.illinois.gov/documents/10180/126764/Lake+View.pdf">racial makeup of Lake View</a> — while just 3% were Black, just under 13% were Hispanic, and nearly 4% were Asian American. (Hamilton’s current principal did not respond to a request for an interview.)&nbsp;</p><p>Though the shifts at individual schools can be stark, the racial breakdown districtwide has only changed slightly. As of last school year, the district’s students were 4% Asian American, 11% white, 36% Black, and 46.5% Hispanic. Ten years ago, 3% were Asian American, 9% were white, 40.5% were Black, and close to 45% were Hispanic.&nbsp;</p><p>Research <a href="https://tcf.org/content/facts/the-benefits-of-socioeconomically-and-racially-integrated-schools-and-classrooms/#:~:text=On%20average%2C%20students%20in%20socioeconomically,in%20schools%20with%20concentrated%20poverty.">has shown</a> that students in diverse schools, both socioeconomically and racially, perform better academically than schools that are not integrated.&nbsp;</p><p>At the same time, families who become the minority may not feel as included or even shut out from their schools. As more neighborhood white families enrolled at Hamilton, Gray said, he received an anonymous note that said he had “driven Black and brown families away.”&nbsp;</p><p>It also stung when former students would visit and notice improvements at the school — bankrolled, in part, by parent fundraising efforts — such as new hoops and backboards in the gym and a new science lab.&nbsp;</p><p>They would say some version of, “Oh Mr. Gray, I wish you could have done this while I was here,” he recalled.</p><p>“They realized their experience was different from the kindergarteners or first graders’ experience over time,” Gray said.&nbsp;</p><p>While the demographic shifts have led to more income and racial diversity at some schools, that diversity could be fleeting as gentrification continues to push longtime neighborhood families out.</p><p>John-Jairo Betancur, professor of urban planning and policy at UIC, said as property values “dramatically” increase, families — and their children — leave for other neighborhoods or the suburbs, causing enrollment in the local schools to drop. At the same time, birth rates are declining in Chicago and more households do not include children, Betancur noted.&nbsp;</p><p>That has happened in <a href="https://blockclubchicago.org/2018/07/24/as-logan-square-gets-whiter-neighborhood-schools-must-fight-to-survive/">Logan Square</a>, home to Lorenz Brentano Math &amp; Science Academy elementary school.&nbsp;</p><p>Similar to Hamilton, Brentano was at risk of closure due to low enrollment in 2013. Principal Seth Lavin’s priority when he became principal in 2015 was to bring in more students. He, too, was successful through various efforts, giving more than 100 school tours his first year, he said.&nbsp;</p><p>Today, the school enrolls almost 700 children, a 62% increase from a decade ago. But the school looks different. Roughly 39% of students come from low-income households, a nearly 50 percentage point drop from 2013 when 88% did. The school has also become more diverse: Half of Brentano’s students are Hispanic, just over a third are white, and about 5% are Black. A decade ago, 85% of students were Hispanic, while 5% were white, and 4% were Black.&nbsp;</p><p>Lavin said he is worried that gentrification has already “pushed out a lot of families” and will continue to do so, leading to a “great sense of loss” for families who have long called Logan Square home, and believe Brentano is at the heart of their community.&nbsp;</p><p>“It’s heartbreaking that even as we grow, and there’s expansion and the programming and things we didn’t have before that we’re able to get because of enrollment growth, that we’re losing families that should have those things, too,” Lavin said.</p><h2>‘We have to keep kids in neighborhoods’</h2><p>Lavin can spot six buildings outside of Brentano that have been renovated and hiked up rent prices in the last several years. He said the city “desperately” needs affordable housing and a pathway to home ownership.</p><p><em>&nbsp;</em>“If we want to keep kids in neighborhood schools, we have to keep kids in neighborhoods,” he said.</p><p>Mayor Brandon Johnson has said that building more affordable housing and boosting neighborhood schools are priorities for his administration. Specifically, the mayor wants to grow<a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/31/23811427/chicago-public-schools-sustainable-community-schools-teachers-union"> the district’s Sustainable Community Schools model,</a> which provides extra money for wraparound support and programming.</p><p>Separately, Johnson’s vision for school funding would alleviate pressure on principals to enroll more children in order to have a well-resourced school, or even to avoid closure. Though in the past more students meant more funding, CPS officials have been shifting toward funding schools based on need, not just enrollment. But that comes as the district stares down financial challenges, including a fiscal cliff as COVID relief dollars are set to run out.&nbsp;</p><p>If the city does nothing to address issues such as affordable housing, Chicago will shift toward “a city that primarily serves elites,” said Scarborough, the author of the UIC report.&nbsp;</p><p>District officials have not yet researched the trend around losing students from low-income families, a spokesperson said.&nbsp;</p><p>But many principals have noticed these shifts for years.&nbsp;</p><p>Even with how her community has changed, Zaimi’s school has two counselors and more staff focused on academic intervention. Still, she wishes she had more funding to hire a parent resource coordinator who could work with families, as well as instructional coaches who could help new teachers or those using new strategies in the classroom.&nbsp;</p><p>After all, she emphasized, her students have a lot of needs, regardless of their income. And, last year, more than one-third&nbsp; — about 370 — came from low-income families. That’s larger than the enrollment of entire schools in Chicago.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at&nbsp;</em><a href="mailto:ramin@chalkbeat.org"><em>ramin@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>Thomas Wilburn is the senior data editor for Chalkbeat. Reach Thomas at&nbsp;</em><a href="mailto:twilburn@chalkbeat.org"><em>twilburn@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/9/6/23862087/chicago-public-schools-enrollment-poverty-low-income-gentrification/Reema Amin, Thomas WilburnJamie Kelter Davis for Chalkbeat2023-09-06T04:01:00+00:002023-09-06T04:01:00+00:00<p><em>This story is a collaboration with the </em><a href="https://apnews.com/article/school-covid-money-counselors-tutoring-cb387a3f2d738db3f392f4e4fbfb8958"><em>Associated Press</em></a><em>. Sign up for </em><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/national"><em>Chalkbeat’s free weekly newsletter</em></a><em> to get essential education news delivered to your inbox. </em></p><p>DETROIT – Davion Williams wants to go to college. A counselor at his Detroit charter school last year helped him visualize that goal, but he knows he’ll need more help to navigate the application process.</p><p>So he was discouraged to learn the high school where he just began his sophomore year had laid off its college transition adviser — a staff member who provided extra help coordinating financial aid applications, transcript requests, campus visits, and more.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/dpscd-support-staff-say-impending-layoffs-are-a-smack-in-the-face/">advisers</a> had been hired at 19 schools with federal pandemic relief money. In June, when Detroit’s <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-school-board-approves-2023-24-budget-that-cuts-300-jobs/">budget was finalized</a>, their jobs were among nearly 300 that were eliminated.</p><p>“Not being able to do it at this school is kind of disappointing,” Williams said in August at a back-to-school event at Mumford High School.</p><p>An unprecedented infusion of aid money the U.S. government provided to schools during the pandemic has begun to dwindle. Like Williams’ school, some districts are already winding down programming like expanded summer school and after-school tutoring. Some teachers and support staff brought on to help kids through the crisis are being let go.&nbsp;</p><p>The relief money, totaling roughly <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/2/3/22916590/schools-federal-covid-relief-stimulus-spending-tracking">$190 billion</a>, was meant to help schools address needs arising from COVID-19, including making up for learning loss during the pandemic. But the latest <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/11/23787212/nwea-learning-loss-academic-recovery-testing-data-covid">national data</a> shows large swaths of American students remain behind academically compared with where they would have been if not for the pandemic.</p><p>Montgomery County schools, the largest district in Maryland, is reducing or eliminating tutoring, summer school, and other programs that were covered by federal pandemic aid. Facing a budget gap, the district opted for those cuts instead of increasing class sizes, said Robert Reilly, associate superintendent of finance. The district will focus instead on providing math and reading support in the classroom, he said.</p><p>But among parents, there’s a sense that there remains “a lot of work to be done” to help students catch up, said Laura Mitchell, a vice president of a districtwide parent-teacher council.&nbsp;</p><p>Mitchell, whose granddaughter attends high school in the district, said tutoring has been a blessing for struggling students. The district’s cuts will scale back tutoring by more than half this year.</p><p>“If we take that away, who’s going to help those who are falling behind?” she said.</p><p>Districts have <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/19/23517691/schools-esser-covid-spending-stimulus-money-federal">through</a> September 2024 to earmark the last of the money provided by Congress in three COVID relief packages. Some schools have already started pulling back programming to soften the blow, and the next budget year is likely to be even more painful, with the arrival of what some describe as a “funding cliff.”&nbsp;</p><p>In a June <a href="https://www.aasa.org/docs/default-source/advocacy/arp-survey-part-iv.pdf?sfvrsn=b69a67e1_3/ARP-Survey-Part-IV.pdf">survey</a> of hundreds of school system leaders by AASA, The School Superintendents Association, half said they would need to decrease staffing of specialists, such as tutors and reading coaches, for the new school year. Half also said they were cutting summer-learning programs.</p><p>As the spending deadline looms, the scope of the cuts is not yet clear. The impact in each district will depend on how school officials have planned for the aid’s end and how much money they receive from other sources.</p><p>State funding for education across the country has been <a href="https://edurecoveryhub.org/dont-miss-it-states-are-making-big-new-investments-in-public-schools/">generous</a> of late. But states may soon face their own budget challenges: They also received temporary federal aid that is <a href="https://www.volckeralliance.org/resources/195-billion-challenge">running out</a>.</p><p>Many school officials are bracing for the budget hit to come. In Shreveport, Louisiana, officials say that next year they might have to cut some<strong> </strong>of the 50 math teachers they added to double up on math instruction for middle schoolers.&nbsp;</p><p>Schools there added the teachers after identifying deep learning gaps in middle school math, and there’s evidence it helped, with a 4-point increase in math scores, officials say. But at a cost of $4 million, the program will be in jeopardy.</p><p>“Our money practically is gone,” Superintendent T. Lamar Goree said.</p><p>Some researchers <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/stoken/default+domain/URBVWZEWN9WPP2XICYQR/full">have questioned</a> whether the money was sufficient or sustained enough to address the deep declines in learning. But with a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-ceiling-deal-food-aid-student-loans-3c284b01d95f8e193bca8d873386400e">recent deal</a> limiting federal spending increases in education, more money from Congress will not be forthcoming.&nbsp;</p><p>Meanwhile, some lawmakers and commentators have pointed to anemic academic recovery to suggest schools didn’t spend the COVID relief money wisely in the first place.</p><p>Experts note that district officials had wide discretion over how to spend the money, and their decisions have varied widely, from HVAC upgrades to professional development. “Some of the spending was very wise, and some of it looks, in hindsight, to have been somewhat foolish,” said Lori Taylor, an education finance researcher at Texas A&amp;M University.&nbsp;</p><p>To date, there is limited research on whether the federal money has helped address learning loss. One <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/15/23833338/pandemic-covid-summer-school-learning-loss-recovery-research">recent study</a> of eight districts’ summer school programs found no impact on reading scores but improvements in math. Since only a fraction of students in each district attended, this made only a small contribution to learning recovery, though.</p><p>School officials insist the money has made a difference.</p><p>“I wonder what the counterfactual would have been if we didn’t have the money,” said Adriana Publico, the project manager for COVID relief funds at Washoe County School District in Reno, Nevada. “Would students have been even worse off? I think so.“</p><p>The Washoe system has cut hours for after-school tutoring in half this year and eliminated teacher coaches from many elementary schools. The district just finished a dramatically expanded summer school program, but officials aren’t sure if they’ll be able to afford to continue it next summer.</p><p>Some school systems are trying to maintain COVID-era additions. In Kansas City, Missouri, district officials say they’re planning to keep a number of the positions that were added with federal money, including intervention teachers and clinicians who work with students who have experienced trauma. The district will be able to do so, said CFO Erin Thompson, because of higher property tax revenue.&nbsp;</p><p>“This might not be as bad as what we thought,” she said. “We’re optimistic at this point.”</p><p>In Detroit, which received a <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2023/2/17/23604103/michigan-schools-district-aid-budget-fiscal-cliff-covid-relief-dollars-esser">windfall</a> of federal COVID money, district officials say they budgeted carefully to avoid steep cuts when the money runs out. This included earmarking more than half of their federal relief — some $700 million — for one-time building <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/27/23658034/michigan-schools-buildings-facilities-covid-relief-funds">renovations</a> to aging campuses across the city.&nbsp;</p><p>But ultimately, officials said some reductions were necessary. Expanded summer and after-school programs have been <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/8/23754640/michigan-summer-school-programs-covid-esser-2023#:~:text=Summer%20school%20programming%20will%20be,end%20of%20COVID%20relief%20funding.">phased out</a>, in addition to the hundreds of staff positions, like the college advisers.</p><p>“In an ideal world, I would rather have college transition advisers,” said Superintendent Nikolai Vitti. “But it’s another example of making hard decisions.”</p><p><em>Hannah Dellinger is a reporter for Chalkbeat Detroit covering K-12 education. Contact Hannah at&nbsp;hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.</em></p><p><em>Matt Barnum is interim national editor, overseeing and contributing to Chalkbeat’s coverage of national education issues. Contact him at mbarnum@chalkbeat.org.</em></p><p><em>Collin Binkley is an education reporter for the Associated Press.</em></p><p><em>Barnum reported from New York and Binkley reported from Washington, D.C.&nbsp;</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/9/6/23851143/covid-relief-schools-esser-spending-learning-loss/Hannah Dellinger, Matt Barnum, Collin Binkley2023-09-01T18:20:33+00:002023-09-01T18:20:33+00:00<p><a href="https://chalkbeat.admin.usechorus.com/e/23628849"><em><strong>Leer en español.</strong></em></a></p><p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with education news in Denver and beyond.</em> &nbsp;</p><p>The Adams 14 school district will not be forced to reorganize.</p><p>Accepting a <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23932492-final-adams-14-reorganization-committee-final-report-and-recommendation">committee recommendation submitted in August</a>, Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Córdova has released the school district from a State Board of Education order that it reorganize —&nbsp;a process that could have led to school closures or seen parts of the district absorbed by neighboring districts.&nbsp;</p><p>The state decision was sent to the reorganization committee Thursday evening.&nbsp;</p><p>In it, the commissioner finds that the law doesn’t allow for reorganization when surrounding districts are unwilling to redraw their boundaries.&nbsp;</p><p>“It would not be in the best interest of any of the districts involved to spend further resources or time on this matter if there is no foundational interest from the surrounding districts,” the response states. “There will be no further expectations for the reorganization process to continue.”</p><p>Adams 14 officials celebrated their defeat of the state’s attempt.</p><p>“Colorado’s School District Reorganization Act is an outdated, unproven process that does not work and has no place in the accountability system,” said Reneé Lovato, the president of the Adams 14 school board and chair of the reorganization committee, in a statement released Friday. “It did nothing except instill fear and uncertainty among our students, staff and community.”</p><p>Superintendent Karla Loría thanked neighboring districts for helping and said in the statement, “it is our fervent hope that the State Board will stop taking negative actions against Adams 14 and allow us to focus on our students.”</p><p>The State Board <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/10/23066191/adams-14-district-reorganization-state-board-education-new-orders">ordered Adams 14 to reorganize</a> in May 2022. In November 2018, the State Board had ordered the district based in the working class community of Commerce City to cede control to an external manager, <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2019/5/9/21108106/state-board-despite-misgivings-approves-adams-14-s-selected-external-manager">which began in 2019</a>. The 2022 reorganization order came after a new superintendent <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/2/6/22921120/adams-14-mgt-consulting-leaving">pushed that external manager, MGT, out of the district</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Adams 14 leaders had <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/30/23853050/adams-14-school-ratings-state-reorganization-committee-request">touted ratings improvements this week</a> as evidence that they are on the right track. The ratings improvements aren’t yet enough to get the district off of what is known as the “accountability clock.” Under state law, schools or districts that earn one of the two lowest ratings are placed “on the clock” and have five years to show improvement before facing orders from the State Board of Education.&nbsp;</p><p>Adams 14 was the first school district in Colorado to be ordered to reorganize as a consequence of multiple years of low performance ratings. The district has challenged the reorganization order in court, and a <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/1/23621113/colorado-supreme-court-state-board-education-adams-14-appeal-school-accountability">Colorado Supreme Court decision</a> on whether the state has the authority to force a district into reorganization is pending.&nbsp;</p><p>In the meantime, <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/11/11/23454081/adams-14-school-district-reorganization-committee-members-appointed">Adams 14 formed a committee</a> with members from the neighboring districts — the first required step toward reorganization. The group met four times, but instead of crafting a draft plan to close schools, change boundaries, or dissolve the district, they adopted a 40-page recommendation that found that <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/30/23853050/adams-14-school-ratings-state-reorganization-committee-request">reorganization was not in the district’s best interest</a>.</p><p>Córdova’s decision letter notes, “The committee seeks authorization to end the process before community hearings because there are no new boundaries to present to the community.” Because the state turned over the process to be led by the community, the state can now choose to say that the process is complete, Córdova wrote.</p><p>Córdova also notes that if parts of current Adams 14 district had to vote on being absorbed into a neighboring school district with a higher property tax burden, they would have to also vote to approve that higher tax — something that is unlikely to happen in the low-income district that has failed to pass its own tax measures multiple times.</p><p>While the district will no longer be bound to go into reorganization, the district is still bound by a second State Board order to contract with a partial manager to help with improvement work, the decision says.</p><p>“Unfortunately, the State Board was notified this week that Adams 14 is non-renewing their contract with TNTP, and TNTP’s work has been stopped in the district,” the state’s decision notes. “This comes as a surprise.”</p><p>District leaders cite the cost of TNTP’s contract as one main reason for stopping their work, and in their notice to the state, said that both the nonprofit and the district mutually agreed to stop the work while they negotiate.</p><p>Adams 14 had <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/6/27/23185733/tntp-adams-14-school-district-contract-external-management-colorado-state-board-orders">signed a contract with TNTP</a> in the summer of 2022. The contract was to be for three years and for a total of $5 million over that time.&nbsp;</p><p>State officials said late Thursday they had offered to increase school improvement funding for the district by $350,000, bringing the total to $1.2 million this year. “We hope this will help the district continue its work with TNTP,” a statement from the department says.</p><p><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23933802-commissioner-response-to-adams-14-reorganization-committee-august-31-2023"><em>Read the state’s decision here:</em></a></p><p><div id="aqWqBb" class="html"><iframe src="https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/23933802-commissioner-response-to-adams-14-reorganization-committee-august-31-2023/?embed=1&amp;responsive=1&amp;title=1" title="Commissioner Response to Adams 14 Reorganization Committee - August 31 2023 (Hosted by DocumentCloud)" width="700" height="905" style="border: 1px solid #aaa; width: 100%; height: 800px; height: calc(100vh - 100px);" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox" ></iframe> </div></p><p><em>Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at yrobles@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/9/1/23855845/adams-14-school-district-end-reorganization-colorado-education-commissioner-decision/Yesenia Robles2023-09-01T01:00:09+00:002023-09-01T01:00:09+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with Memphis-Shelby County Schools and statewide education policy.</em></p><p>Tennessee has appointed a school improvement leader to manage all of its school turnaround work under a powerful new position that will touch urban, suburban, and rural districts.</p><p>Bren Elliott, who was a Nashville school administrator from 2001 to 2007 and has been school improvement chief for District of Columbia Public Schools since 2017, will begin her job as state turnaround superintendent on Tuesday.&nbsp;</p><p>The Tennessee Department of Education announced Elliott’s hire on Thursday, three years after launching its first search to fill the job. The position is considered key to jump-starting school improvement work in Tennessee, which has helped pioneer several turnaround models with <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2019/7/16/21108497/tennessee-school-turnaround-models-either-haven-t-worked-or-are-stalling-out-new-research-finds">limited success</a>.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/pQvkcXkVz_Htws30Uz14cLt5hQU=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/VHUCFZIQCVDMVNJFFQTZK7A2IA.jpg" alt="Bren Elliott, Tennessee’s new school turnaround leader, returns to the state from Washington, D.C., where she was a school improvement leader. Elliott has previously been a teacher, principal and administrator in Nashville. " height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Bren Elliott, Tennessee’s new school turnaround leader, returns to the state from Washington, D.C., where she was a school improvement leader. Elliott has previously been a teacher, principal and administrator in Nashville. </figcaption></figure><p>She is among the first major hires for Education Commissioner <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/24/23803579/tennessee-education-commissioner-lizzette-gonzalez-reynolds-bill-lee-excelined-school-vouchers-esa">Lizzette Reynolds, who started her job</a> on July 1 with an early focus on school accountability.</p><p>Elliott’s experience in school improvement “will be an asset to the state and provide intentional support to these schools to ensure all students receive a high-quality education,” Reynolds said in a statement.</p><p>Chief among Elliott’s new responsibilities will be overseeing the Achievement School District, the state’s most aggressive lever for improving low-performing schools. The state-run district, which takes over schools and assigns them mostly to charter operators to manage, has itself struggled, with little to show so far for its turnaround efforts over the past decade.&nbsp;</p><p>Elliott also will be responsible for supervising interventions for all 95 of the state’s so-called priority schools — those that score academically in the bottom 5% — as well as schools that need targeted support due to large achievement gaps among groups of historically underserved students such as English language learners, students with disabilities, or those from low-income families.</p><p>In all, nearly 300 Tennessee schools fall in those categories.</p><p>She will also work closely with local leaders of district-level turnaround initiatives, from the Innovation Zone in Memphis and Nashville to the Partnership Network in Chattanooga.</p><p>“I look forward to working with our schools most in need of support and intervention, including the Achievement School District, to improve student achievement and help all students in these schools succeed,” said Elliott.</p><h2>Turnaround efforts are at a crossroads</h2><p>For many local school improvement leaders, the education department’s naming of a statewide turnaround chief came as a surprise. Under Gov. Bill Lee, the department launched multiple searches to fill the job, even <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2021/11/17/22787632/school-turnaround-superintendent-search-tennessee-asd">naming three finalists</a> in 2021. But those searches <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2021/1/8/22221372/tennessee-again-delays-hiring-its-first-statewide-school-turnaround-superintendent">stalled</a> due to the pandemic, budget issues, and uncertainties about what direction the state wanted to take its turnaround work.</p><p>Victoria Robinson, the department’s spokeswoman, said making the hire was a priority for Reynolds.</p><p>“Dr. Elliott was identified several months ago as a potential candidate, and since that time has completed the interview, hiring and other processes with the state, including with Commissioner Reynolds and TDOE leadership,” Robinson said.</p><p>Reynolds has not said what she has planned for the ASD and other turnaround work. State law gives the commissioner the authority to identify schools for state takeover and place them in the ASD.</p><p>Under Reynolds’ predecessor, Penny Schwinn, the department unveiled a new vision for the <a href="https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/education/2022/04/01/tennessee-schools-asd-2-turnaround-fall-no-leader-chosen/7238252001/">ASD that would have had a “smaller footprint”</a> and new takeovers, but none of the updates materialized.&nbsp;</p><p>The ASD, which launched in 2012, has been mostly a disappointment. Under charter management, its schools typically <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2018/6/19/21105167/after-five-years-the-tennessee-run-district-isn-t-performing-any-better-than-low-performing-schools">performed no better than low-performing schools receiving no intervention</a>. As a result, Tennessee has not taken control of a neighborhood school since <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2015/12/11/21100676/four-more-memphis-schools-will-join-state-school-turnaround-district#.VniAPzZ38Vo">taking over four in Memphis</a> in 2016.</p><p>Most of the ASD’s schools are Memphis, with a few in Nashville, but the district has shrunk by more than half to just over a dozen schools in recent years. A few have closed, some have returned to their local districts, and many that have shown the most improvement have moved under the oversight of a <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2019/4/17/21107933/tennessee-legislature-approves-governor-s-call-for-a-statewide-charter-school-commission">new state commission for public charter schools.</a></p><p>A lack of steady leadership in the ASD has <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/17/23797481/memphis-shelby-county-schools-tennessee-achievement-school-district-new-charters-turnaround">complicated the complex exit process for schools once their charter contracts expire</a>. The district’s last leader, <a href="https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/education/2022/06/13/tennessee-asd-superintendent-lisa-settle-departing-district-loses-schools-staff/7585491001/">Lisa Settle, departed in summer 2022</a>. Since then, other staff with the education department have managed it.</p><h2>Elliott has Tennessee ties</h2><p>Elliott, who is a member of <a href="https://www.chiefsforchange.org/future-chiefs/bren-elliott/">Chiefs for Change</a>, an influential national education leadership network, is a native of North Carolina and no stranger to Tennessee.</p><p>She was a teacher and administrator in Nashville public schools for 15 years, and spent her last year at the district as a director focused on priority schools. She earned her master’s degree from Tennessee State University.</p><p><aside id="LHdPzC" class="sidebar float-right"><p id="hZ0NzG"><strong>Bren Elliott</strong></p><p id="G3Ytj1">B.S. in chemistry, University of North Carolina-Wilmington</p><p id="OhgrXM">M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction, Tennessee State University</p><p id="TffGbu">Ed.D. in educational leadership, High Point University</p><p id="fxq07T">U.S. Army Veteran, earning the rank of captain</p></aside></p><p>In 2020, <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2020/03/01/nashville-schools-superintendent-meet-job-candidates/4895724002/">Elliott lost a bid to become director of Metro Nashville Public Schools</a> to Adrienne Battle, who was the interim leader at the time. This summer, Elliott was <a href="https://www.waaytv.com/news/these-3-finalists-want-to-be-the-next-huntsville-city-schools-superintendent/article_bdd59e6a-058c-11ee-bee0-bf630e477983.html">a superintendent finalist for Huntsville City Schools</a> in Alabama, which also picked its interim leader instead.&nbsp;</p><p>Before joining the Washington, D.C., school district, she spent eight years as an administrator for two school districts in North Carolina, where she focused on support services for students in Wake and Guilford counties.</p><p>As the state’s overarching turnaround leader, Elliott also will work with local officials who manage district-run turnaround models.</p><p>Memphis-Shelby County Schools operates the <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2021/6/16/22537745/school-turnaround-lessons-memphis-asd-izone">Innovation Zone</a> with funding assistance from the state. The so-called iZone gives its schools autonomy over curricular, financial, scheduling, and staffing decisions, similar to charter schools.</p><p>State officials also have worked closely with Hamilton County Schools’ <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2018/12/4/21106378/with-new-school-turnaround-model-tennessee-takes-lessons-learned-in-memphis-to-chattanooga">Partnership Network</a>, a model that seeks greater collaboration between the state and the local district.</p><p>But the ASD is the state’s most scrutinized turnaround program.</p><p>This spring, state Rep. Antonio Parkinson received bipartisan support <a href="https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0692&amp;ga=113">for a bill that would revamp the state’s turnaround model and halt school takeovers</a> altogether.</p><p>On Thursday, the Memphis Democrat said the department needs a school turnaround leader, whether his legislation passes or not next year.&nbsp;</p><p>“We need to be utilizing and putting our efforts and resources behind those practices that actually work,” Parkinson said, “and stop feeding millions and millions of dollars into the practices that didn’t work.”</p><p><em>Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Laura at </em><a href="mailto:LTestino@chalkbeat.org"><em>LTestino@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at </em><a href="mailto:maldrich@chalkbeat.org"><em>maldrich@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/8/31/23854607/tennessee-school-turnaround-superintendent-asd-izone-bren-elliott-dc-public-schools/Laura Testino, Marta W. Aldrich2023-08-31T13:06:56+00:002023-08-31T13:06:56+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Detroit’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with the city’s public school system and Michigan education policy. &nbsp;</em></p><p>After missing four days of classes last fall at Gompers Elementary-Middle School, Jay’Sean Hull was called into the cafeteria with 100 other students with similar attendance records.&nbsp;</p><p>The group was introduced to attendance agent Effie Harris, a key figure in the school’s efforts to improve on a dismal statistic. The previous school year, a staggering 82% of students in the northwest Detroit school were <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/chronic-absenteeism">chronically absent</a>, meaning they missed 18 or more days.&nbsp;</p><p>Harris explained that the students had been selected for a relatively new program pairing students at risk of becoming chronically absent with 20 adult mentors in the building.&nbsp;</p><p>Jay’Sean’s mentor: Harris herself. Over the next few weeks, she would greet the sixth-grader at a side entrance designated for middle schoolers, visit him in his classrooms on days that he arrived late, and regularly check in with his family.&nbsp;</p><p>This high-touch, relationship-based investment was part of a multipronged approach at Gompers last school year to tackle a problem with tragic consequences: <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/13/23403250/chronic-absenteeism-pandemic-attendance-quarantines">Chronically absent students</a> are more likely to become <a href="https://www.gallup.com/education/258011/decrease-student-chronic-absenteeism.aspx">disengaged from school</a> and <a href="https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/west/relwestFiles/pdf/508_UEPC_Chronic_Absenteeism_Research_Brief.pdf">more likely to drop out</a>, research shows. Frequent absences also make it harder to get students on track academically, a pressing need coming off <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/17/23409281/epic-michigan-academic-progress-pandemic">pandemic-fueled declines in academic achievement</a>.</p><p>Gompers Principal Akeya Murphy, a veteran educator, tapped just about every staff member to help with the effort. Along with the mentorship program, the school dispatched staff to students’ homes to help families solve problems contributing to absenteeism, used data to track attendance patterns, and offered incentives ranging from field trips to the local movie theater for students to grocery store gift cards for parents.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/fQDlXrWyoQ6k4GQ_UUPOFzldyjs=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/4FM54IXBLFGMLDONG6VCBFNHOA.jpg" alt="Students eat lunch at Gompers Elementary-Middle School in Detroit. In 2021-22, a staggering 82% of the school’s students were chronically absent, meaning they missed 18 or more school days." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Students eat lunch at Gompers Elementary-Middle School in Detroit. In 2021-22, a staggering 82% of the school’s students were chronically absent, meaning they missed 18 or more school days.</figcaption></figure><p>Murphy, Harris, and other leaders at Gompers set an ambitious goal for last school year: to shave 20 percentage points off the school’s chronic absenteeism rate.&nbsp;</p><p>To get there, they would need to reach students like 13-year-old Jay’Sean, and dozens of other students whose absences put them at risk of missing out on their education.</p><p>“By the time they’re 16, they’re already thinking about going to work or exiting out of the educational system, because it is rigorous,” Murphy said. “We know the curriculum is rigorous, and so we want to prepare them, and the way we do that is by them being at school every single day, so that they’re not missing anything.”</p><h2>Attendance struggles reflect Brightmoor’s economic challenges</h2><p><aside id="uJePmh" class="sidebar float-right"><h2 id="9aAT1T">About this series</h2><p id="reXcpC">Chalkbeat Detroit is investing reporting resources into covering the impact frequent absences are having on students, their families, and schools. High rates of chronic absenteeism are destroying efforts to turn around schools and recover from the pandemic. And they’re further exacerbating inequities that affect the most vulnerable children in Michigan.</p><p id="QzeCcH">You can <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/missing-school-falling-behind">read past stories here</a>. </p><p id="xjzRXG">Have a story to tell, a tip, or know of some best practices? You can reach out to us by email at <a href="mailto:detroit.tips@chalkbeat.org">detroit.tips@chalkbeat.org</a>. </p><p id="LbYILy"></p></aside></p><p>Across the Detroit Public Schools Community District, 77% of students were chronically absent during the 2021-22 school year, when COVID-19 cases in Michigan reached their peak. But even before the pandemic caused a spike in absenteeism in school districts across the country, students in Detroit district and charter schools were <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2022/11/7/23422689/school-attendance-detroit-michigan-students-chronic-absenteeism">missing school at crisis numbers.</a></p><p>The reasons for that vary, but they’re largely rooted in the economic challenges that accompany Detroit’s high poverty rates — transportation hurdles, health problems, family and housing instability.</p><p>Brightmoor, where Gompers is located, is one of the most economically challenged areas in the city, with a high concentration of housing instability, poverty, and transportation challenges. They&nbsp;contribute to a high level of transiency among the school’s student population, school officials say.&nbsp;</p><p>At Gompers, 91% of students come from low-income homes. The list of reasons for missed school days ranges widely at Gompers, from inflexible parent work schedules to student illnesses and bullying.</p><p>By January 2023, <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/24/23735005/student-attendance-michigan-schools-chronic-absenteeism-tanf-family-benefits">Haydin Griggs had missed about 50 days of the school year</a>, primarily because her mother, Shetaya Griggs, had health problems that often prevented her from walking her daughter to school, and she didn’t want the sixth-grader walking to school on her own in their rough neighborhood.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Many parents “don’t have a bunch of money, they don’t have a whole bunch of resources,” said Harris, the attendance agent. “They’re thinking about just surviving.”</p><p>The Detroit school district’s strategies to reduce absenteeism have increasingly focused on these economic challenges. The <a href="https://www.detroitk12.org/Page/17004">district’s Family Resource Distribution Center</a> regularly offers toiletries, dry goods, school supplies and winter coats.&nbsp;</p><p>The district is also <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/5/23780494/detroit-public-schools-health-centers-steve-ballmer-student-attendance">set to launch 12 school-based health hubs</a> in the next three years to provide medical resources and services that families would need to keep students attending school regularly.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/vRJ6CFR2i4BUzkrmOSqt-zwbdQ4=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/EMOYS4C3AZE6RNZYTH3PAFWNUU.jpg" alt="Students wait in line in the main hallway at Gompers Elementary-Middle School in Detroit. The reasons for missed school days range widely at Gompers, from inflexible parent work schedules to student illnesses and bullying." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Students wait in line in the main hallway at Gompers Elementary-Middle School in Detroit. The reasons for missed school days range widely at Gompers, from inflexible parent work schedules to student illnesses and bullying.</figcaption></figure><p>One issue that came up at Gompers ahead of the school year was how many parents were holding their children back from school because they did not have a uniform or clean clothes. Murphy said she sent out a back-to-school letter encouraging parents to send their kids to school regardless of what they had to wear.</p><p>“We would prefer them to be at school and just have them wear their regular clothes versus feeling like they can’t come to school because of a uniform,” she said.</p><p>When Murphy became principal at Gompers at the start of 2022-23, she made sure to move the attendance agent’s office into the main office, a decision she hoped would amplify the importance of student attendance to families as they walked into the building.</p><p>Harris spends a portion of her days reaching out by phone and in person to parents and caregivers, trying to help them make plans to get their kids to class. It can be difficult, she said, stressing to families how two absences a month can quickly add up to a student being chronically absent. Some are unaware of how significant the absences are, and many are weary of the pandemic’s impact on their health, jobs, and households.</p><p>“The dust is still settling,” Harris said in February, during a spike in absenteeism. “Families have been affected, loved ones have been lost. There have been readjustments, people have had to adapt to whatever their new normals are and a lot of shuffling.”</p><p>A student’s absence, whether excused or unexcused, still counts toward the total number of missed school days they accumulate in a given year.</p><p>Gloria Vanhoosier’s three elementary school-age children each accumulated over 80 absences (out of 180 days) during the 2021-22 school year.&nbsp;</p><p>In Vanhoosier’s case, a bedbug infestation that lasted more than a year was a contributing factor. She was often too exhausted to take her children to school after spending so much time trying to rid her home of the critters, while also doing her children’s laundry nightly so they didn’t bring the bugs to school. They also missed school because of multiple of COVID infections, because of car problems, and because the children sometimes overslept.</p><p>Alarmed by the absences, Harris reached out multiple times asking Vanhoosier to meet with her at the school.&nbsp;</p><p>“‘I’m not superwoman,’” Vanhoosier remembers telling Harris when they finally met. “‘I got too much on my plate. I’m trying to take care of my kids and trying to take care of my family.’”&nbsp;</p><p>“Once I opened up to her, it’s like her whole face changed,” Vanhoosier recalled. “Now I feel that she sees my struggle and is concerned for me.”</p><p>The conversation with Harris motivated Vanhoosier to rethink her attitude about her children’s absences and its impact on their grades. Seeing her daughters happy and thriving after they began attending school more regularly has also helped. The girls participated in volleyball step dance, and after-school tutoring programs.&nbsp;</p><p>“I’ve gotten a lot better,” Vanhoosier said in the spring. “We still miss days, but I’m open with her now.”&nbsp;</p><h2>Absenteeism has ripple effects on students in the classroom</h2><p>Brittany Parker, who has been teaching for 10 years, wrestles with what to do when her kindergartners don’t show up for class. Absences can create lasting turmoil in a child’s education — children who are chronically absent in early grades are <a href="https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/preschool-attendance-chicago-public-schools-relationships-learning-outcomes-and-reasons">less likely to read at grade level by the third grade.</a></p><p><a href="https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/preschool-attendance-chicago-public-schools-relationships-learning-outcomes-and-reasons">They can also hamper the rest of the class</a>. “The question for me is: Do I push ahead to the next lesson or do I wait for them to come back?” Parker said.</p><p>“As a district, they want us to keep going,” she said. “If it’s four kids out, I’m going to push ahead. Sometimes if it’s a larger number I’ll hold back. I’m also looking at: Are these kids who can catch up?”&nbsp;</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/6X3GbSTnoozhx-RkzO6A-jYE12g=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/2SCGPATOX5EMLBQIW6ZK7Z4DD4.jpg" alt="An instructor works with students at Gompers Elementary-Middle School in Detroit. Children who are chronically absent in early grades are less likely to read at grade level by third grade." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>An instructor works with students at Gompers Elementary-Middle School in Detroit. Children who are chronically absent in early grades are less likely to read at grade level by third grade.</figcaption></figure><p>By May, more than half of the 50 third-graders La’Dawn Peterson taught between her morning and afternoon math classes were chronically absent. An additional nine were severely chronically absent, meaning they had missed more than 36 days of school.</p><p>One of them missed more than 60 days during the year.</p><p>“He would be so good if he came to school,” Peterson said of the boy. When he did show up, he was able to grasp the material, but she worried whether he’d retain the information.</p><p>Despite her many attempts to communicate with his family, she said she’s not entirely clear why he was absent so much.&nbsp;</p><p>Peterson said she’s tried exhaustively to impress upon her students and their families the importance of daily attendance, and the harmful impact of missing school. It shows up in their academic performance, she said, and explains why some students can become classroom distractions.</p><p>One day in June, when extreme heat prompted the district to shorten the school day, just nine students showed up — about half as many as usual. One of them was the boy who had missed 60 days.</p><p>On that day, while other students quickly got to work on their online multiplication and fraction exercises, he was slow to get started. He rubbed his eyes with the sleeves of his black and white Adidas tracksuit, and rested his head on one hand as he clicked through the exercises.</p><p>About 10 minutes later, he raised his hand, and a classroom tutor walked over to his desk in the back corner of the room. With a little bit of support, he seemed to grasp the lesson and began to work through the exercises.&nbsp;</p><p>Teachers like Peterson are cramming in four to five lessons a week, and they depend on weekly small-group lessons to catch up absent or struggling students. But if kids miss those opportunities, the challenges multiply.</p><p>“They’re missing out on so much and then, most of the ones that are absent all the time … there’s no motivation at home,” Peterson said. “So they come to school, and they’re not motivated to do anything.”</p><h2>Over 18 absences: ‘You can’t bounce back from that’ </h2><p>Eighteen days. Thirty-six days. Fifty days. Sixty days. Eighty days of missed school. How does a student’s attendance record ever get so bad?</p><p>That’s the question that haunted Murphy and her team at Gompers, and motivated them to work on curbing absenteeism long before it becomes chronic.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/X6I54P-jEUnzmip-vK0MFy9CiNI=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/7QAUS2AXNFCQNIFTE3X2UPLICA.jpg" alt="Third grade teacher DeAnna Weeden, far right, instructs a group of students during an English lesson at Gompers Elementary-Middle School. Teachers depend on weekly small-group lessons to catch up absent or struggling students." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Third grade teacher DeAnna Weeden, far right, instructs a group of students during an English lesson at Gompers Elementary-Middle School. Teachers depend on weekly small-group lessons to catch up absent or struggling students.</figcaption></figure><p>“You want to, for lack of a better word, stop the bleeding,” with students just below chronic absenteeism, Murphy said in January. “We need (families) to know that they’re on their way to being over the 18 absences … you can’t bounce back from that.”</p><p>In Jay’Sean’s case, it was four missed days of school by the end of October, too many so early in the school year. Jay’Sean blamed inconsistent school bus service that prompted him to start walking to school.</p><p>That was enough to warrant an intervention from the new mentorship program for him and the other students at risk of becoming chronically absent. The school’s mentoring program is an offshoot of a national initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Education.</p><p>The program’s premise sounded easy enough to Jay’Sean.&nbsp;“I just had to keep coming to school,” he recalled.&nbsp;</p><p>In reality, it took more effort than that from Harris and others on the team to ensure that Jay’Sean stayed on track. But it worked.</p><p>“By the beginning of the new year … he was always coming,” Harris told Chalkbeat this summer. If Jay’Sean came in late some days, she’d stop by his classroom to check in.&nbsp;</p><p>“He always wants to go to school,” said Shamika Hull, Jay’Sean’s mom. “He’ll go stand outside, and it’ll be raining, and he’s out there waiting for the bus.”</p><p>Hull also has an 11-year-old son at Gompers who got the message on attendance.</p><p>“The only times they have been absent from school since (the program began) has been either they were having a doctor’s appointment, or I wasn’t able to wash their clothes.”</p><p>For those whose absences are already beyond the “chronic” threshold, Murphy said she and her staff “continue to work with the family. We continue to make those calls. We continue to try to remove barriers.”</p><p>Those efforts won’t help the school improve its chronic absenteeism rate, Harris said, “but it’s still going to help the kid.”</p><p>“I tell them, ‘OK, let’s just take it a week at a time. Just five days. Four more days. Just three more days,’” she said, adding: “It’s going to make a difference for the kids and their scores.”</p><h2>Attendance incentives are a ‘means to an end’ </h2><p>The conference room at Gompers is testament to the school leaders’ determination to make a dent in absenteeism. On all four walls are dozens of easel paper sheets, with handwriting in bright pink, green and orange marker. Each sheet details strategies Gompers staff have employed to try to make kids come to school every day.&nbsp;</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/NwNzlE5KBaJ-Vne5InN28T97Xp8=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/WNY6Y3IMXVBXLNGX43J3SY3RHY.jpg" alt="Posters hanging in the conference room at Gompers Elementary-Middle School highlight some of the school’s strategies to combat student absenteeism." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Posters hanging in the conference room at Gompers Elementary-Middle School highlight some of the school’s strategies to combat student absenteeism.</figcaption></figure><p>Field trips to the local movie theater and bowling alley. Gas and grocery store gift cards for parents. Arts and crafts activities in the gymnasium. A mobile video game truck. “Gator Bucks,” named after the school’s mascot, for students who complete classroom assignments and exhibit positive behavior.&nbsp;</p><p>“These are the kinds of things that we’re discussing, constantly thinking and trying to be innovative about,” Murphy said. “How can we entice kids and make sure that families are consistently bringing their children to school?”&nbsp;</p><p>“It’s a means to an end … initially to draw them in and then to get them into the habit” of going to school, said Harris, the attendance agent.&nbsp;</p><p>A line of plastic trophies sit on a shelf behind Harris’ desk. Every two weeks, the awards go to the classrooms that have the most students with perfect attendance.</p><p>Gompers deploys some of these incentive programs when students are more likely to be absent, such as before and after holiday breaks or crucial days such as <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2021/10/5/22711769/michigan-schools-stress-funding-loss-as-student-count-day-looms">Count Day</a> or state testing periods.</p><p>But while incentives are a significant part of Murphy’s vision to encourage student attendance, relationship building remains the core tenet of the school’s efforts.</p><p>“Children need to know that you care for them, that they’re in a safe space, that they have a trusted adult that they can communicate with and someone that is building a relationship with them, because that’s going to open the pathway for learning,” she said.&nbsp;</p><h2>When absences go unexplained</h2><p>For all their efforts — and progress — the sense of crisis is never far away.</p><p>On a Friday morning in early February, a handful of master teachers and administrators gathered in that same conference room for a weekly meeting to discuss academic performance, attendance, and behavior.</p><p>It had been close to a month since students and staff returned from winter break. And yet, teachers were still reporting near-empty classrooms.</p><p>“It’s that two-week break, where a lot of our students are moving,” said Shannon Harper, a fourth grade master teacher. “They may have been (evicted from) their homes. They may be living now with a relative, and there’s some friction there. And cars break down in the winter, especially here with all the potholes.”&nbsp;</p><p>“I just had a student that was out for 10 days,” Harper told the group. “We don’t know why, and he doesn’t either.”</p><p>Despite a barrage of robocalls going home when a child is absent, many parents don’t send their children back to the building immediately. And even when students do return, some may not have notes or reasons explaining why they missed school.</p><p>“If you never say this is your issue, we can’t help you,” said Adrian Harrell, Gompers’ parent outreach coordinator. “We can’t see what our next solution is to help you. All we know now is they are absent.”</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/VayLU4lPOjow2RbjIBoaNKMaBqs=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/4SLH6PCBBZGT3LFDJDDQ5TN2TA.jpg" alt="Gompers Elementary-Middle School in the Brightmoor neighborhood is one of the Detroit district’s newer buildings. But Brightmoor is one of the most economically challenged areas in the city." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Gompers Elementary-Middle School in the Brightmoor neighborhood is one of the Detroit district’s newer buildings. But Brightmoor is one of the most economically challenged areas in the city.</figcaption></figure><h2>After a year of effort, Detroit students and leaders reap the rewards</h2><p>On the last day of school, the grin on Jay’Sean’s face was hard to conceal, even behind the black hoodie that shrouded his head.&nbsp;</p><p>He was one of nine students who won a new bike in an end-of year-raffle to reward students who showed up every day over the last weeks of school.</p><p>As he took a seat on his red and black Mongoose bicycle, Jay’Sean welcomed the compliments and cheers from his friends.&nbsp;</p><p>The whole school had something to cheer about, too. By the end of the year, the chronic absenteeism rate declined to 64% — just shy of the 20-point decline school officials were aiming for, but down significantly.&nbsp;</p><p>The district experienced a similar decline, from the peak of 77% in 2021-22 to 68% last year. District officials attribute some of that <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/12/23791935/detroit-public-schools-dpscd-chronic-absenteeism-covid-quarantine-decline">to the end of quarantining requirements</a> that forced many students to miss school.</p><p>Encouraged by the progress last year, Gompers school staff plan to continue their strategies in the new school year that began this week.</p><p>The mentoring program will remain in place, along with the range of incentives the school experimented with. But most significant for Gompers will be the addition of a second attendance agent to work alongside Harris.&nbsp;</p><p>Superintendent Vitti announced earlier this year that the district would shuffle its 80 attendance agents to schools in areas with the highest concentration of chronically absent students and poverty.&nbsp;</p><p>The added resources provide validation that attendance agents with a coordinated, hands-on approach can make a difference.</p><p>Harris said she is proud of seeing her mentees like Jay’Sean avoid chronic absenteeism. He finished the year with 13 absences, five days below the threshold.</p><p>Under Harris’ guidance, he found an accountability system that worked for him. By the end of the winter break, for all the attempts he made to get to school on time and every day, he and other students earned snacks and mini-parties every month.&nbsp;</p><p>With a challenging sixth grade year behind him, Jay’Sean is ready to get back to school.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Ethan Bakuli is a reporter for Chalkbeat Detroit covering Detroit Public Schools Community District. Contact Ethan at </em><a href="mailto:ebakuli@chalkbeat.org"><em>ebakuli@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>Tracie Mauriello covered state education policy for Chalkbeat Detroit. Reach the team at </em><a href="mailto:detroit.tips@chalkbeat.org"><em>detroit.tips@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/detroit/2023/8/31/23853030/chronic-absenteeism-detroit-school-attendance-dpscd-brightmoor/Ethan Bakuli, Chalkbeat, Tracie Mauriello2023-09-01T00:45:30+00:002023-08-31T00:44:31+00:00<p>Adams 14 leaders are hoping to stop efforts to reorganize the district and point to improved state ratings as evidence they’re on the right path.</p><p>A reorganization committee that was formed in November following state orders, submitted a recommendation earlier this month asking the state to stop reorganization, calling the process “unproven, time-consuming, and resource-intensive.”</p><p>Reorganization would hurt the community, the committee argued in <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23932492-final-adams-14-reorganization-committee-final-report-and-recommendation">its 40-page report</a>.</p><p>This year, the Adams 14 district improved from the lowest rating of turnaround, to the second-lowest of priority improvement on the state’s annual ratings. Priority improvement is the same rating the district had in 2019, and four other years in the last decade during which the state gave the district consecutive low ratings.</p><p>Superintendent Karla Loría highlighted the improvements on state tests and in performance ratings compared to last year at a press conference Wednesday.&nbsp;</p><p>Loría pointed to the improvements as evidence the district is on the right track, and that they don’t need state intervention.</p><p>“We still have a lot of work to do, but we are heading in the right direction,” Loría said. “We just need to be given the opportunity.”</p><p>Based on the state’s accountability law, the priority improvement rating isn’t enough to release the district from state intervention. But Loría said she’s confident that, with more time, the <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/7/23499212/adams-14-school-improvement-plan-adams-city-high-school-community-schools">changes she’s implementing</a> will lead to better results than the district has seen under previous improvement plans in the last decade.</p><h2>How the district got here</h2><p>Adams 14 has had one of the two lowest ratings for more than 10 years. State law requires the state intervene and order certain changes after five years in a row of low ratings.&nbsp;</p><p><aside id="sse4Eh" class="sidebar float-right"><h2 id="mt5ODr">Adams 14 ratings:</h2><p id="q2ICsE">Year: District rating; Number of schools with lowest rating of turnaround</p><p id="4w7rNa"><strong>2023:</strong> Priority Improvement; 1 school in turnaround</p><p id="k3j2PR"><strong>2022:</strong> Turnaround; 1 school in turnaround</p><p id="X6ltx7"><strong>2019:</strong> Priority Improvement; No schools in turnaround</p><p id="jbghPp"><strong>2018:</strong> Priority Improvement; No schools in turnaround</p><p id="vulL0u"><strong>2017:</strong> Priority Improvement; 2 schools in turnaround</p><p id="6eTqf8"><strong>2016:</strong> Turnaround; 2 schools in turnaround</p><p id="0AK2Ap"><em>Note: The state did not issue ratings in 2020 or 2021 due to interruptions to testing from COVID school closures.</em></p><p id="oa4VLw"><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/29/23851588/colorado-school-district-performance-ratings-2023">Read more about this year’s ratings and look up your Colorado school’s preliminary 2023 rating.</a></p></aside></p><p>Adams 14 was one of the first districts in the state to reach that mark, and to remain with low ratings after various state-ordered improvement plans.&nbsp;</p><p>Current district leaders point to turnover, state pressures, and biased standardized tests that don’t account for many of the socioeconomic factors that impact children in Adams 14. The district has one of the highest percentages of students who are learning English as a second language, as well as a high number of students from low-income families and students with disabilities. The district points to poverty, trauma, immigration fears, and environmental contamination as some of the many factors that impact learning in Commerce City more than elsewhere in the state.&nbsp;</p><p>This spring, just 17.6% of third graders met expectations on state reading tests, up from 13.6% in 2022, but still lower than the 21.2% who did in 2019.</p><p>In May 2022, Adams 14 was the first district ordered by the state to reorganize when State Board members said they no longer trusted that local leadership could make necessary improvements. The process for reorganization is spelled out in state law, but since it’s never been implemented this way, several questions remain. A <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/1/23621113/colorado-supreme-court-state-board-education-adams-14-appeal-school-accountability">Colorado Supreme Court decision that would impact whether the state can order reorganization</a> is pending.</p><p>The law requires the district under order to reorganize to form a committee including members of neighboring districts and draft a plan for changes. That could mean anything from rebranding the district, changing district boundaries, closing some schools, or dissolving the district altogether.</p><p>The draft plan would be finalized with community feedback and sent to the state commissioner of education for approval. Lastly, voters would have the final say.&nbsp;</p><p>Instead, the reorganization committee, after meeting four times, approved a 40-page recommendation that asks the state to stop reorganization.</p><p>A spokesperson for the state Department of Education said the commissioner is reviewing the request and will issue a decision to the committee. The recommendation is not being considered a reorganization plan, which would have triggered some timelines for a response.&nbsp;</p><p>“Statute doesn’t contemplate a report that is a recommendation to not reorganize,” reads an emailed statement from the department. “The report asks the commissioner to accept the report and absolve the committee of any further obligations related to reorganization.”</p><p>The report initially was displayed on the district’s board website, but has since been removed and can only be viewed by search.</p><p>Under the law, the committee was supposed to review data, and gather community feedback about their draft plan before presenting it to the state.&nbsp;</p><p>In its vote on Aug. 11, all members voted in favor of forwarding the report to the state, except committee member Chris Gdowski, superintendent of neighboring Adams 12, who recused himself because he had not seen or read the 40-page report before the 10-minute meeting.</p><p>The report claims the public had ample opportunity to provide feedback, since its meetings were publicized, school board members held individual meetings, and community members could comment at the end-of-year Adams 14 town hall meeting.&nbsp;</p><p>However, the announcement for that meeting included no mention of the reorganization process, a draft plan, or recommendation.&nbsp;</p><p>An archived online notice for that town hall meeting is just a handful of sentences: “Please join us for an end-of-year town hall meeting on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. The superintendent will share some of our incredible achievements this year regarding state metrics, community engagement, and district initiatives. Join us in the Adams City High School auditorium on May 31 at 5:30 p.m. Dinner and child care will be provided. Interpretation services will be available.”</p><p>The report also cites that other local boards, including the neighboring school boards involved in reorganization, and the Adams County Commissioners, have passed resolutions in support of Adams 14. Teachers unions including the local Adams 14 association and the state teachers union also have voiced their support of the district and opposition for reorganization.</p><p>District attorney Joe Salazar said that community members always have a right to speak about reorganization or any topic at any meeting.&nbsp;</p><p>Salazar said “by and large, people from all four districts didn’t want to take part in reorganization. They are so over this process.”</p><h2>What is happening in the district now?</h2><p>Since the state ordered Adams 14 to enter reorganization, the Department of Education is now led by a new state commissioner and has new state board members.</p><p>Momentum to make changes to the state’s accountability system have picked up over time and a task force has been formed to make recommendations for changes.&nbsp;</p><p>Meanwhile, in the district, Adams 14 worked this past year with consultant TNTP, formerly known as The New Teacher Project. <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/6/27/23185733/tntp-adams-14-school-district-contract-external-management-colorado-state-board-orders">TNTP was supposed to take the place of an external manager</a> the state wanted the district to work with to ensure success.&nbsp;</p><p>Adams 14 filed notice with the state this week that they don’t plan to renew TNTP’s contract due to budget constraints. Asked about that decision Wednesday, Loría said “we’re working with the state through that.” A department spokesperson said ending that relationship would put the district in violation of existing orders. However, the state is willing to give the district more money to cover some of the costs.</p><p>Two years ago, just after being hired, Loría cut ties with a state-ordered manager, for-profit consultant MGT, by locking them out of the district, and the State Board of Education temporarily <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/10/4/22709889/adams-14-loses-accreditation-state-board-decision">removed the district’s accreditation</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>This time, Salazar, the district’s attorney, said the district would seek an amendment to the State Board orders to remove the requirement that the district have an external partner.&nbsp;It’s not clear whether the State Board would approve such a request.</p><p>Loría said the district is continuously re-evaluating district needs and prioritizing improvement efforts, but said the district’s budget woes also pushed her to the decision.</p><p>The contract with TNTP was signed in June 2022, for $5 million over three years.&nbsp;</p><p>Loría said among other things, she has restructured administration staff for a savings of about $800,000. The district also closed Hanson, a low-enrollment elementary school, at the end of last school year, and is considering other closures in the coming years.</p><p>She said the district has been “bold” against the state’s orders, and now has a strong local vision and that has contributed to the district’s improvements. She also discussed the new career-focused academies that are being started at the high school, the district’s commitment to fund full-day preschool for all 3- and 4 year-olds, and the rollout of the community schools model at Central Elementary, one of the low-performing schools that has improved over 2022.&nbsp;</p><p>Loría also announced Wednesday that the district is one step closer to earning an alternative accreditation from Cognia, a Georgia-based nonprofit that conducts reviews of schools, grants accreditation, and offers suggestions and resources for improvement. The district began seeking that one after the state removed its accreditation.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23932492-final-adams-14-reorganization-committee-final-report-and-recommendation"><em>Read the full report from the reorganization committee:</em></a></p><p><div id="cMtztb" class="html"><iframe src="https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/23932492-final-adams-14-reorganization-committee-final-report-and-recommendation/?embed=1&amp;responsive=1&amp;title=1" title="FINAL Adams 14 Reorganization Committee Final Report and Recommendation (Hosted by DocumentCloud)" width="700" height="905" style="border: 1px solid #aaa; width: 100%; height: 800px; height: calc(100vh - 100px);" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox" ></iframe> </div></p><p><em><strong>Editor’s note: </strong>This story has been updated to add additional information about Adams 14 considering cutting ties with TNTP, including a response from the Colorado Department of Education.</em></p><p><em>Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at yrobles@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/8/30/23853050/adams-14-school-ratings-state-reorganization-committee-request/Yesenia Robles2023-08-30T15:55:00+00:002023-08-30T15:55:00+00:00<p><a href="https://chalkbeat.admin.usechorus.com/e/23610393"><em><strong>Leer en español. </strong></em></a></p><p>Something changed when Sierra High School started automatically enrolling more students in Advanced Placement courses.&nbsp;</p><p>The diverse high school in the Harrison district in Colorado Springs saw the demographics of advanced courses shift to better match the school. The students who were enrolled based on their past grades actually had higher average test scores on the AP exam than their classmates who had self-enrolled in the more rigorous courses.&nbsp;</p><p>And it changed how students saw themselves.</p><p>Principal Connor Beudoin said he’s heard students and parents say things like, “I didn’t know I was supposed to be in that class,” or “I didn’t think my kid would ever be in this class and here they are thriving.”</p><p>“It’s really shifting that mindset for students as far as capabilities,” Beudoin said.&nbsp;</p><p>Sierra in Colorado Springs is one of the recipients of a <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2019/1/31/21106661/fewer-students-of-color-take-advanced-courses-this-colorado-bill-aims-to-help-close-that-gap">Colorado grant that started in 2019 and was designed to encourage</a> more schools and districts to automatically enroll students in advanced coursework such as Advanced Placement courses, as a way to increase diversity and improve access.&nbsp; The grant also can be used for schools or districts to enroll more students in honors or other advanced-type courses, not just Advanced Placement.</p><p>Sierra received the grant in the second round of awards and used the money in the 2022-23 school year. At Sierra, the number of Advanced Placement courses offered increased from 15 to 17 with the grant, and included classes like chemistry, psychology, and computer science.</p><p>Beudoin said the work was about laying the foundation so the school could eventually enroll all students in pre-Advanced Placement courses. It involved training staff, identifying students who could automatically enroll in advanced courses, hosting tutoring sessions, and holding quarterly celebration dinners.</p><p>The outcomes at the Harrison high school are exactly what proponents of the grant wanted. But it’s unclear if the results were replicated at other participating schools across the state.&nbsp;</p><p>Colorado <a href="https://www.cde.state.co.us/postsecondary/autoenrollmentawardees">first handed out the grants in the 2019-20 school year</a> just before the COVID pandemic started disrupting education. The next school year, the grant was paused, and though it resumed in the 2021-22 school year, the Colorado Department of Education didn’t require districts to report back on how they used the money or what changed for students. In some districts, staff turnover means no one is left who worked on the program, and at least one school that received money later closed.</p><p>Four schools and a school district received $187,659 total in the first year, two schools and two districts received $161,703.89 in the second round, and one school and four districts received funding in May to spend in the 2023-24 school year. To receive the grant, schools or districts just had to apply for the money. Only one applicant in the three rounds was turned down because of an incomplete application.</p><p>Whether the grant continues depends on legislators continuing to set aside the money for it.</p><p>Three schools in the Denver school district, George Washington, Kennedy, and Northfield,&nbsp; received the grant in the first year, and Kennedy received funding a second time, but district officials said the people who were involved in the original grant are “no longer with the district.” They said no one in the district could speak to that work.&nbsp;</p><p>Other districts that received funding did not respond to requests for comment.&nbsp;</p><p>This summer, schools that received funding in the second round were supposed to submit a report on how they used the money and its impact, but only one recipient has done so.&nbsp;</p><p>The Northeast Board of Cooperative Educational Services is a regional group consisting of 12 school districts. The group aimed to get all districts to adopt policies and guidelines for how to accelerate students who might be ready to move into advanced courses. Six of the 12 did. In the report, the Northeast BOCES identified some challenges for its rural schools, but said the grant enabled them to start planning for an expansion of advanced classes and to continue to build on that over the next few years.</p><p>One of the main challenges was being able to consistently offer advanced courses. Another challenge was teacher attitudes.</p><p>Teachers “believed students were not ready for accelerated instruction at the next grade level in spite of strong data because of their maturity, SEL [social emotional learning] needs, or having achievement at ’only’ the 88th percentile instead of 95th percentile,” <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23921706-buckner-eoy-report-2021-22_ne-boces">their report states</a>. “This truly highlights the need we have within our BOCES to do BOCES-wide professional development around advanced education and student needs. Again, this is a start of a conversation — but time will be needed to reiterate research-based information and offer that type of training.”</p><p>Alena​ Barczak, the state’s program and high school equivalency support administrator, said the participating BOCES schools increased the number of students in advanced courses and the percentage of students of color who participated.&nbsp;</p><p>She said Hispanic student representation in advanced classes at the BOCES schools went from 7% to 10% after receiving the grant. Students who were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch increased from 8% of the students in the courses to 20%. The Hispanic student population in the BOCES districts ranges from 6% to 53%.</p><p>“This is really the only grant program that we have that really focuses on access for students to advanced courses,” Barczak said. “It’s really key. I’ve been really happy to see the legislature keeps funding it. It’s the only program like it.”</p><p>Colorado Sen. Janet Buckner, an Aurora Democrat and a sponsor of the law to create the grants, said she’s heard that the program is working. “I have spoken to many students over the last couple of years who benefitted from this important program,” she said in an emailed statement.</p><p>Statewide, Colorado does not track the demographics of students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses. It used to track some data —&nbsp;but only for districts that volunteered the information. The state is preparing to include some advanced coursework data in school performance ratings, but it’s not ready yet.&nbsp;</p><p>The data they’re preparing to include in information-only reports in January won’t be broken out by student groups.</p><p>The College Board, the organization that runs the courses, does track enrollment demographics at the district level but refused to share the data publicly. They did share some statewide data.</p><p>Based on the demographics of students who took an Advanced Placement test in 2022, Black students in Colorado had higher participation compared to Black students nationally, but Hispanic students in Colorado had lower participation than their national counterparts. Colorado’s gap between the participation rate for white students and Hispanic students is larger than the national average.&nbsp;</p><p>The number of Latino students participating in AP nationally increased 83% from 2012 to 2022, according to <a href="https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/about-ap/ap-data-research/national-state-data">the College Board reports</a>. As a result, 16% of Latino students in grades 10, 11, and 12 participated in the advanced classes in 2022. In Colorado, just 13% of Latino students participated in AP in 2022.&nbsp;</p><p>According to data provided by Denver Public Schools, the three schools that received funding from the grant, had both Hispanic and Black students largely underrepresented in Advanced Placement courses at the time they received the grant in 2019-20. Black students represented 10% of students in AP classes in the three schools while Black students made up 15.8% of the population. Hispanic students made up 35.8% of their Advanced Placement students at the three Denver schools, while they made up more than 46% of all students in the schools.&nbsp;</p><p>Even at Sierra High School, after the grant money helped improve the representation of students taking Advanced Placement courses, Hispanic students remained slightly underrepresented.&nbsp;</p><p>In 2022-23, about 52.9% of students in the courses were Hispanic, up from 49.6% the year before. More than 54% of the school’s students identified as Hispanic. In the same year, Black student representation improved to 22.9%, compared to the 19.7% of students schoolwide who identify as Black.&nbsp;</p><p>Sierra principal Beudoin said the work will take time, but he said he hopes to eventually see that all students take rigorous coursework, and that it translates into higher academic achievement on state tests and other outcomes.</p><p>He said, “it was not just placing students in these classes and saying good luck.”&nbsp;</p><p><em>Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at yrobles@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/8/30/23840688/advanced-placement-automatic-enrollment-diversity-colorado-grant-sierra-high-school/Yesenia Robles2023-08-30T00:51:07+00:002023-08-30T00:51:07+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with education news in Denver and around the state. &nbsp;</em></p><p>More schools and districts scored higher this year on the state’s annual performance ratings than in 2022, according to <a href="http://www.cde.state.co.us/accountability/performanceframeworkresults">preliminary ratings released Tuesday</a> by the Colorado Department of Education.</p><p>But, similar to trends with state test data, the number of schools and districts with good ratings is still lower than before the pandemic.&nbsp;</p><p>And, although more schools and ratings improved overall, more schools and districts were newly identified as low performing, putting them on the state’s watchlist for low performance.</p><p>Colorado issues school performance ratings for every public school and district annually, using state test data, graduation rates, and some post-secondary data such as college enrollment and participation in career education. The highest rating for districts is distinction, while the highest rating for schools is performance, followed by improvement, priority improvement, and lastly, turnaround. By state law, the State Board of Education is required to intervene in schools or districts once they’ve had five consecutive years of one of the two lowest ratings.&nbsp;</p><p>This year’s ratings are the first since 2019 to count for school accountability purposes. Ratings were not issued in 2020 or 2021 due to pandemic testing disruptions, and <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/9/8/23343341/colorado-school-performance-framework-ratings-2022">last year’s ratings were considered advisory</a>. The ratings are preliminary because schools and districts can request the state change the rating taking into account different data. The ratings become final after that process, by December.&nbsp;</p><p>Overall, the Colorado Department of Education reported that 70% of districts and 78% of schools earned ratings of improvement or higher.</p><p>Among the state’s 184 school districts and BOCES, three districts earned a turnaround or red rating this year: Centennial R-1, Deer Trail, and East Otero; last year, only one received that rating. BOCES or boards of cooperative educational services are groups of small districts that share resources.</p><p>The three districts in turnaround —&nbsp;all serving small rural communities — received their lower ratings due to low test participation. Aurora and Sheridan districts earned priority improvement, the second-to-lowest rating, and are now on the state’s list for low performance. Both have been on the <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2018/8/27/21105719/some-colorado-schools-brace-for-state-intervention-while-others-cheer-their-progress">state’s watchlist before</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>A rating for a school or district can be lowered if the rate of participation, after removing parent excused absences, is below 95% for two or more content areas. Although it’s happened before, it was more common this year for districts or schools to have a rating lowered for low participation. In 2022, since the ratings were advisory, the state waived the participation requirements that could have lowered many ratings.</p><p>Adams 14, the one district that was rated turnaround in 2022, moved up to priority improvement. The Adams 14 school district has been rated in the bottom two categories for 10 years and has been ordered to try various improvements, which haven’t been effective. The district is fighting the latest state order to reorganize. The move up doesn’t take it off the state’s watchlist for low performance.</p><p>Another district, the 107-student Aguilar district in southern Colorado, which had also been under state orders for years of low performance, did improve enough this year to get off the watchlist.</p><p>Two districts, Mesa County Valley School District 51 and Pueblo 60, do not yet have district ratings as the state is recalculating their data and expects to release their ratings next month.</p><p>Meanwhile, efforts to change the state’s accountability system are ongoing. Critics say the ratings rely too heavily on standardized test data and are biased against districts with high percentages of students from low-income families or who are not native English speakers. The legislature has convened a <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/31/23664104/standardized-testing-colorado-schools-accountability-task-force-legislature">task force to recommend changes to the school ratings system</a>, but any changes likely wouldn’t happen until 2025.</p><p>Of 22 districts that earned one of the two lowest ratings, 11 are majority students of color.&nbsp;</p><p>In Denver Public Schools, Colorado’s largest school district, fewer schools earned the top rating this year than last year. But low student participation on state standardized tests could be the reason. Nine schools’ ratings were lowered from performance, signified by the color green, to improvement, or color yellow, due to low test participation.</p><p>Those schools include some of DPS’ largest high schools, including East, Northfield, South, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson.</p><p>More DPS schools earned one of the two lowest ratings this year than last year. But last year’s ratings breakdown was skewed because so many DPS schools — 40 last year compared to just three this year — had insufficient data for the state to calculate a rating.</p><p>Six DPS schools this year earned the lowest rating of turnaround. Four are elementary schools, one is an ECE-8 school, and one is a high school. West High, which <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/8/25/22642026/denver-west-high-school-reunified-back-to-school">reopened in 2021</a> after being closed for low test scores, was bumped down to a red turnaround rating because of low student test participation. The other red Denver schools are: College View Elementary, McGlone Academy, Oakland Elementary, Barnum Elementary, and Academy 360.</p><p>Two DPS high schools are under state improvement orders for chronic low performance. Both schools, Abraham Lincoln and Manual, earned the same rating this year as they did last year: priority improvement, signified by the color orange.</p><p><em>Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at </em><a href="mailto:yrobles@chalkbeat.org"><em>yrobles@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at </em><a href="mailto:masmar@chalkbeat.org"><em>masmar@chalkbeat.org</em></a>.</p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/8/29/23851588/colorado-school-district-performance-ratings-2023/Yesenia Robles, Melanie Asmar2023-08-18T20:42:43+00:002023-08-18T20:42:43+00:00<p>Chicago Public Schools’ estimated 320,000 students will head back to class Monday for a school year that will be marked by old issues — and some new concerns.&nbsp;</p><p>The district’s enrollment has been dwindling for at least a decade, raising questions about how to best fund schools still recovering from the effects of the pandemic.&nbsp;</p><p>Funding overall has become more complicated as the city’s federal COVID relief dollars dry up. Much of that money has been used for supporting existing and additional staff, many of them providing extra academic support for students.&nbsp;</p><p>As the district decides on how, if at all, to continue funding some of those programs, it must also contend with the continued enrollment of incoming immigrant students.</p><p>Here are five issues Chalkbeat Chicago will be watching this school year:&nbsp;</p><h2>A fiscal cliff is approaching</h2><p>This is the last full school year before Chicago must earmark how to spend what’s left of nearly $3 billion it received in COVID relief aid from the federal government. The deadline is September 2024.&nbsp;</p><p>That means the district will soon be staring down a financial hole that has been filled by that influx of federal funds since the pandemic.&nbsp;</p><p>The district <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/2/11/22927568/chicago-public-schools-federal-covid-relief-american-rescue-plan-spending">spent a large</a> share of pandemic relief money on staff salaries and benefits. The district also spent <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/25/23729023/chicago-public-schools-academic-interventionist-covid-learning-recovery">hundreds of millions of dollars on academic recovery</a> efforts, including after-school programs, an in-house tutor corps, and more counselors, social workers, and other support staff.&nbsp;</p><p>District officials have projected a budget shortfall of $628 million by the 2025-26 school year, raising questions about how Chicago will sustain any programs and services supported by the federal dollars.&nbsp;</p><p>A <a href="https://www.cpsboe.org/content/documents/analysis_of_cps_finances_and_entanglements-final-103122.pdf">financial analysis</a> released under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot noted that CPS “will not have a funding source” to keep up these academic recovery and social-emotional learning efforts.&nbsp;</p><p>As the district’s financial picture is becoming more precarious, Mayor Brandon Johnson has shared lofty plans for schools, including <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/31/23811427/chicago-public-schools-sustainable-community-schools-teachers-union">expanding the Community Schools model</a> — leaving complicated financial decisions ahead.&nbsp;</p><p>The district’s state funding could also be in jeopardy if it fails <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/21/23802457/chicago-schools-restraint-seclusion-timeout-staff-training-illinois">to comply with a state law</a> requiring that at least two staffers at each school are trained on the use of student restraint and timeout. The deadline for that, coincidentally, is the first day of school.</p><h2>Student academic needs persist  </h2><p>Three years since the onset of the COVID pandemic, there are still signs Chicago students need extra help in the classroom. Students appear to be improving in reading achievement, but they’re gaining less ground in math, according to <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/3/23817681/chicago-public-schools-illinois-assessment-readiness">recent state test scores obtained by Chalkbeat.&nbsp;</a></p><p>As the district’s COVID dollars fade out, questions remain about how district officials will approach academic recovery, and whether there will be efforts to keep any of the extra support CPS has funded with the federal dollars.&nbsp;</p><p>Some of those COVID dollars went toward the creation of <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/31/23663499/chicago-public-schools-skyline-curriculum-covid-recovery">a $135 million universal curriculum</a> called Skyline, which has received mixed reviews. The district has pressed schools not yet using the curriculum to prove they’re using another high-quality option, so it’s possible more campuses will use Skyline this year.&nbsp;</p><p>Additionally, Illinois’ General Assembly <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/19/23730353/illinois-literacy-reading-phonics-bill-passed-2024#:~:text=Under%20SB%202243%2C%20the%20state,opportunities%20for%20educators%20by%20Jan.">passed a new law</a> requiring the State Board of Education to create a literacy plan for schools, which is due by the end of January 2024.&nbsp;</p><h2>District grapples with continued dipping enrollment</h2><p>Chicago’s public school enrollment has dipped by 9% since the pandemic began — a trend also seen among other <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/8/23715931/nyc-enrollment-fair-student-funding-formula-pandemic-budget">big-city school districts</a> — and is almost one-fifth smaller than it was a decade ago.&nbsp; Last year’s enrollment dip of 9,000 students was enough t<a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/9/28/23377565/chicago-school-enrollment-miami-dade-third-largest">o push the district’s ranking</a> from the country’s third largest public school system to the number 4 spot.&nbsp;</p><p>This year’s enrollment figures won’t be publicly released until later this fall.&nbsp;</p><p>As the district’s student body has thinned out, funding has grown — to $9.4 billion for the upcoming school year. Still, as the district has logged fewer students — including those from low-income families — CPS has in recent years received less state funding than it has projected. And with COVID aid running out, officials must grapple with how to fund schools serving a fraction of the kids they used to. (There is a citywide moratorium on school closures until 2025.)&nbsp;</p><p>Some advocacy and interest groups, including the teachers union, believe funding should be divorced from enrollment, in part because investing fewer dollars will only encourage more families to leave or to never enroll in public schools. Just over 40% of new budgets for schools this year was determined by student enrollment, with the rest accounting for other factors, such as student demographics.&nbsp;</p><p>Still, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez has emphasized that the district can’t factor out enrollment.</p><p>“In a large school district where schools serve 40 students, 400 students, and even 4,000 students, enrollment simply has to play a role in our funding formula,” Martinez previously told reporters.</p><h2>Increase in migrant students poses new challenges</h2><p>Last year, Texas officials began busing newly arrived migrants to Democratic-led cities, including Chicago. Since then, an estimated 12,000 migrants, many of whom are fleeing economic and political turmoil from South and Central American countries, have arrived in Chicago, While the district won’t say how many such students have enrolled, CPS saw roughly 5,400 new English learners last school year, Chalkbeat found.&nbsp;</p><p>Most Chicago schools have <a href="https://www.wbez.org/stories/chicago-public-schools-families-left-without-a-bus-ride-to-class-face-enormous-stress-as-first-day-nears/c44dd964-6938-477e-8381-d4880bc6e30d?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=081723%20Afternoon%20Edition&amp;utm_content=081723%20Afternoon%20Edition%20CID_4b7f3f4deffd2fefc38db9a84aad3bf0&amp;utm_source=cst%20campaign%20monitor&amp;utm_term=Chicago%20Public%20Schools%20families%20left%20without%20a%20bus%20ride%20to%20class%20face%20enormous%20stress%20as%20first%20day%20nears&amp;tpcc=081723%20Afternoon%20Edition">previously</a> <a href="https://www.chicagoreporter.com/english-learners-often-go-without-required-help-at-chicago-schools/">struggled</a> with providing adequate language instruction for English learners. And with the city expecting more newcomers, educators and immigrant advocates<a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/16/23833661/chicago-public-schools-migrant-students-bilingual-resources-2023"> recently told Chalkbeat</a> that schools are not adequately resourced to serve these new students.&nbsp;</p><p>Some of these children may arrive without years of formal education and, if they’re learning English as a new language, are legally required to receive extra support.&nbsp;</p><p>The district’s number of bilingual teachers has dropped since 2015 even as the English learner population has grown, according to a <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/16/23833661/chicago-public-schools-migrant-students-bilingual-resources-2023">Chalkbeat analysis.</a> More teachers have earned bilingual education endorsements, which allows them to teach, but it’s unclear whether any of those educators are using those endorsements in the classroom.&nbsp;</p><p>District officials will be tasked with how to properly support these students. Officials had <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/17/23797844/chicago-public-schools-migrant-families-welcome-center">previously promised</a> to release a formal plan by the first day of school but have not done so yet.&nbsp;</p><h2>No district maps yet for the elected school board</h2><p>As Chicago prepares to begin electing school board members next fall over the next two years, lawmakers have yet to approve maps that would designate which districts each board member would be elected from in the first round of elections. Ten members will be elected in November 2024, while the rest will be elected in November 2026, for a total of 21 members.&nbsp;</p><p>Illinois state lawmakers are in charge of approving those maps. In May, <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/26/23738680/chicago-elected-school-board-map-deadline-illinois-legislature">they extended their deadline</a> to April 1, 2024, after concerns over whether the maps would match the makeup of the district’s student body or the city’s overall demographics.&nbsp;</p><p>Some observers cheered the extension. However, the delay presents new complications. If maps are not approved until April, the campaign season for the first set of districts would last just seven months, making it potentially challenging for candidates to prepare and for voters to have enough information ahead of Election Day.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/authors/reema-amin"><em>Reema Amin</em></a><em>&nbsp;is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/8/18/23837629/chicago-public-schools-first-day-fiscal-cliff-migrant-students-academic-recovery/Reema Amin2023-08-17T17:00:00+00:002023-08-17T17:00:00+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with education news from Denver and around the state. </em>&nbsp;</p><p>State test scores released Thursday show signs that Colorado students are recovering from pandemic learning disruption, as 2023 scores approached 2019 levels in some grades and subjects.</p><p>But worrying signs remain that many students are still struggling.&nbsp;</p><p>The share of fourth and eighth graders who could read and write at or above grade level on <a href="https://www.cde.state.co.us/assessment/cmas-dataandresults">CMAS tests taken this past spring</a> remains more than 4 percentage points behind the share who could in 2019. Seventh and eighth graders are similarly behind in math. Each percentage point represents thousands of students who are not meeting expectations and who are less prepared for the next grade.&nbsp;</p><p>At the same time, fifth and sixth graders are posting similar scores in reading and writing to their peers four years ago, and in math, all elementary students are. At nearly every grade level, more students met or exceeded expectations in both language arts and math in 2023 than did in 2022, with fifth and seventh graders improving several percentage points in reading.&nbsp;</p><p>State education officials attribute the progress to a more normal school year, with fewer disruptions due to illness and safety protocols, as well as to school districts’ investments in new curriculum and tutoring to help students catch up.&nbsp;At the same time, staff shortages meant <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/12/17/22843083/amid-substitute-shortages-school-specialists-are-filling-in-while-juggling-their-own-work">educators had less time to help struggling students</a>, and many schools reported <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/22/23317330/greeley-northridge-high-school-chronic-absenteeism-zero-dropouts-covid">increases in students missing class</a>.</p><p><aside id="1jdzTw" class="sidebar float-right"><p id="8fEFrN"><a href="https://chalkbeat.admin.usechorus.com/e/23599027">Find your school and district 2023 CMAS results.</a></p><p id="Tk6gks"><a href="https://chalkbeat.admin.usechorus.com/e/23598937">Find your school and district 2023 SAT and PSAT results.</a></p></aside></p><p>The uneven recovery may be due to differences in where students were developmentally when COVID hit and school moved online — and how critical the material they missed during disrupted schooling was to the next grade level. Students who were in eighth grade in spring 2023 were in fifth grade when schools shut down in March 2020.</p><p>“There are some key learnings that typically occur in some grade levels that have impact down the road,” Joyce Zurkowski, chief assessment officer for the Colorado Department of Education, said on a call with reporters this week.</p><p>She said education officials consider “what typically is covered (in) fifth grade, second semester — and how that could be impacting our students in seventh and eighth grade.”</p><p>All Colorado students in grades three through eight take reading, writing, and math tests every spring. The tests are known as the Colorado Measures of Academic Success, or CMAS. Some students also take tests in science and social studies. High schoolers take the PSAT and SAT.&nbsp;</p><h2>Scores for English learners raise concerns</h2><p>Test scores for English learners and students who took the reading and writing tests in Spanish raise major concerns about how well these children are faring in school.&nbsp;</p><p>Just 18.7% of third graders who took the test in Spanish met or exceeded expectations, down 8.8 percentage points from 2019 —&nbsp;by far the biggest lag in student recovery. And just 14.2% of fourth graders who took the Spanish test met or exceeded expectations, down almost 5 percentage points from 2019.</p><p>State education officials said the trend calls for more attention to these students. Some of that will have to come from state lawmakers, who have <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/7/23629086/math-help-colorado-legislature-tutoring-afterschool-learning-loss-common-core-instruction">set aside money</a> and <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/11/2/23435686/colorado-science-of-reading-curriculum-changes-literacy-denver-adams12-eagle">crafted new rules to support reading</a> and <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/12/23679713/zearn-math-colorado-pandemic-recovery-tutoring">math instruction</a>, but not bilingual learners.&nbsp;</p><p>Floyd Cobb, the associate commissioner of student learning, made that clear this week. Asked what the state education department will do to close the gap between bilingual learners and English-speaking students, he said, “that’ll need to be answered by the General Assembly.”</p><p>“Our job here at the department is to make sure that we go about implementing the laws that the General Assembly passes, and in the event that someone writes a bill, and that bill makes it through, we’ll engage in our work to be able to support,” Cobb said.</p><p>Colorado’s Latino communities <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2021/10/19/colorado-latinos-expenses-pandemic-democratic-poll/">suffered a heavy toll during the pandemic</a>, experiencing more illness and death, more job losses, and more economic instability than white Coloradans. Hispanic families are also <a href="https://www.coloradokids.org/colorados-hispanic-latino-students-disproportionately-lack-internet-access-how-will-schools-reach-them-now/">less likely to have reliable internet access</a>, and have been affected by rising rents and home prices that have pushed many of them out of their neighborhoods.&nbsp;</p><p>Colorado education officials are also watching with concern the test scores of middle school girls. Girls typically do better than boys in language arts, while boys do better in math. That hasn’t changed, but in some cases, gender gaps have narrowed because girls are doing worse. The number of eighth grade girls meeting or exceeding expectations in language arts is down 7.7 percentage points since 2019, and down more than 3 points just since last year.</p><p>“When we look at the national level, there’s been significant research that suggests young women have <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/2/13/23598156/mental-health-cdc-girls-teenagers-high-school-pandemic-depression-anxiety">struggled more during the pandemic with depression and anxiety</a>,” Colorado Commissioner of Education Susana Córdova said.&nbsp;</p><p>“It’s hard to say if that’s the reason why we’re seeing lower performance with young women than we are with young men,” Córdova said. “But I think it’s going to be important for us to continue to monitor and look at and to focus supports on young women.”</p><p>Colorado continues to have major gaps in proficiency rates based on student race and economic status. The share of white and Asian students scoring at grade level is 24 to 30 points higher than for Black and Hispanic students. The gaps between students living in poverty —&nbsp;as measured by eligibility for free- or reduced-price lunch — and their more affluent peers is more than 30 points in most grades and subjects.&nbsp;</p><p>These are longstanding problems, but Colorado education officials said they demand urgent attention.</p><h2>How state officials, schools, teachers, and families use CMAS results</h2><p>Critics of standardized tests say they are a better measure of the effects of poverty than of academic performance, but state education officials point out that they are the only statewide measure of how well students meet the state’s academic standards.&nbsp;</p><p>The state uses the test results to rate schools and districts, and to direct help to schools with lower scores and issue state improvement orders.</p><p><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2019/8/28/21121708/here-s-what-colorado-parents-need-to-know-about-getting-and-deciphering-kids-cmas-scores">Parents can use their children’s individual test results</a> to discuss strengths and weaknesses with teachers, and they can use state data to see how their school and district perform compared with others.&nbsp;</p><p>Schools and teachers can use the test scores to determine the subjects where students are furthest behind and find ways to help them improve.&nbsp;</p><p>In addition to the raw test scores, Colorado also calculates growth scores. Those scores measure how much progress students made compared with students who scored similarly to them the year before and are generally considered a better measure of the work educators do than raw test scores.&nbsp;</p><p>Because of the way the growth scores are calculated, the state average is always around 50 on a 100-point scale. Students who are behind need growth scores above 50 to catch up.</p><p>In the aftermath of the pandemic, Colorado students would need growth scores of 55 or higher to catch up to 2019 achievement levels, said Lisa Medler, the executive director of accountability and continuous improvement for the Colorado Department of Education.</p><p>Among districts with more than 1,000 students that serve a large portion of students of color, only Denver edged above 50 in growth in both language arts and math, and many districts had below-average growth scores.</p><p>Statewide, district growth scores for grades three through eight ranged from a high of 79 in math in Hinsdale County RE-1, a small district in southwest Colorado, to a low of 23, also in math, in Agate School District #300, a tiny district in the east.</p><h2>Denver scores rebound, but big gaps remain</h2><p>In Denver Public Schools, Colorado’s largest school district with nearly 88,000 students, test scores for most grades and subjects rebounded, but not quite to pre-pandemic levels.&nbsp;</p><p>There were a few exceptions. Third graders scored higher this past spring than four years ago: 40% met or exceeded expectations in 2023, compared with 39% in 2019.</p><p>The troubling trend of English learners falling further behind showed up in Denver’s test scores, too. Most English learners in Denver speak Spanish, and more than 1,600 Denver students took the state literacy test in Spanish. But only 21% met or exceeded expectations on the Spanish literacy test, down from 29% in 2019.</p><p>While English-speaking students are catching up from pandemic learning loss, students who are still learning the English language are not, the test data shows. The test score gap between English learners and English speakers is growing.</p><p>Denver has other gaps, too. Last year, Denver’s test score gaps between white and Black students, and between white and Hispanic students, <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/22/23313729/denver-test-score-gaps-largest-in-colorado-literacy-math-cmas">were the biggest in Colorado</a>. The gaps did not shrink this year. In fact, the gap grew in math between white and Hispanic students.</p><p>Denver Superintendent Alex Marrero has said he wants to see the number of students scoring at grade level go up by 10 percentage points in reading and math by 2026 — <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/7/28/23282555/denver-public-schools-strategic-plan-alex-marrero-first-look">a goal he included in the district’s strategic plan</a>. The plan says test scores should improve even more for “some student groups,” an acknowledgement that Denver has big gaps to close.</p><p>This year’s test scores show only slight progress toward that goal. Proficiency rates in grades three through seven rose between 0.2 and 2.4 percentage points, depending on the grade. Eighth graders declined slightly in language arts.</p><p>On both the PSAT and SAT, fewer Denver students scored at or above a benchmark meant to indicate college readiness this past spring in literacy and math than did in 2019.&nbsp;</p><h2>Adams 14 test scores remain low</h2><p>The Adams 14 school district, which <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/10/23066191/adams-14-district-reorganization-state-board-education-new-orders">received state orders to reorganize</a> after years of chronic low student performance, continued to see low scores.</p><p>At the high school level, students in every grade level tested had lower average combined scores than in 2019. The trend is similar statewide, but Adams 14’s scores are lower than the state’s average.</p><p>In grades three through eight, Adams 14 saw significantly lower scores districtwide compared with 2019, nearly across the board.&nbsp;</p><p>The biggest decrease was among fifth graders taking English language arts tests, only 12.7% of whom met or exceeded expectations. The only districtwide improvement was very small: just a 0.1 percentage point increase among sixth graders in math. Only 4.3% of those students met or exceeded expectations.</p><p>Looking at growth among Adams 14 students, the district and most of its schools had growth scores of less than 50. The two highest growth scores were for math at Dupont, with a 57.5, and language arts at Rose Hill Elementary which had a growth score of 58.</p><p>The test where Adams 14 had its highest percentage of students meeting expectations was on the language arts tests given in Spanish. Among third graders taking that test, for instance, 19.2% of students met or exceeded expectations, compared with 17.6% of third graders taking that test in English.</p><p>Adams 14 has one of the state’s highest proportions of students learning English as a second language, and historically <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2017/12/20/21104084/this-colorado-school-district-was-supposed-to-be-a-model-for-advancing-biliteracy-now-it-s-scaling-b">has had trouble educating those students and complying</a> with their civil rights. In more recent years, the district has implemented bilingual programming and <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2020/10/15/21517819/adams-14-district-approved-plan-english-learners">created a plan that finally got federal approval</a> for how to educate English learners.&nbsp;</p><h2>Third graders still recovering in reading</h2><p>Elementary students are still not yet up to pre-pandemic reading proficiency levels, despite big changes in how Colorado schools teach reading.&nbsp;</p><p>Statewide, 39.9% of the spring’s third graders met or exceeded expectations on reading tests. That percentage is lower than last year, and down from 41.3% in 2019.&nbsp;</p><p>Sheridan, Douglas County, Jeffco, and St. Vrain districts in the metro area showed significant improvements in third grade reading.&nbsp;</p><p>In Sheridan, the district went from having just over 10% of students meet expectations for reading in 2019 to 26.8% this spring. In the Douglas County school district, 58% of third graders met expectations in reading, up from 52% in 2019. The score put the Dougco district above most metro area districts.</p><p>The Jeffco school district also had increases, with 48.2% of third graders meeting reading standards, up from 46.3% in 2019.</p><p>Mapleton and Pueblo 60 districts have not been able to bring the percentage of students meeting expectations back up to 2019 levels. In Mapleton, 17.8% of third grade students met or exceeded reading expectations this spring, down from 28.1% in 2019. In Pueblo 60, 22.9% of third grade students met or exceeded reading expectations, down from 27.6% in 2019.</p><p>Among 10 districts that serve the highest percentages of students of color and have more than 1,000 students, all saw a decrease in the percentage of students meeting expectations in math. Westminster and East Otero in southeast Colorado had the smallest decreases in overall math scores. Among Westminster students 15.5% met or exceeded expectations in math this year, down from 16.4% of students in 2019.</p><p><em>Bureau Chief&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/authors/erica-meltzer"><em>Erica Meltzer</em></a><em>&nbsp;covers education policy and politics and oversees Chalkbeat Colorado’s education coverage. Contact Erica at emeltzer@chalkbeat.org.</em></p><p><em>Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at&nbsp;</em><a href="mailto:masmar@chalkbeat.org"><em>masmar@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at </em><a href="mailto:yrobles@chalkbeat.org"><em>yrobles@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/8/17/23835415/colorado-2023-cmas-results-show-slow-academic-recovery-red-flags-for-some-students/Erica Meltzer, Melanie Asmar, Yesenia Robles2023-08-17T17:00:00+00:002023-08-17T17:00:00+00:00<p>Colorado students’ SAT scores ticked up slightly this year, although participation remained down — an issue that’s created a murkier picture of overall student achievement.</p><p>Meanwhile, Colorado high school students’ PSAT scores dropped this year in all but ninth grade math.</p><p>Overall, the PSAT and SAT results fall short of pre-pandemic levels and underscore the difficulty educators have had in getting students caught up. Students taking the SAT this spring were eighth graders at the onset of shutdowns and experienced two years of disrupted learning. National data has <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/23/23417245/naep-testing-2022-colorado-nations-report-card-math-scores-drop">shown learning loss since 2019 has been acute here and across the country</a>, especially in math skills.</p><p>The SAT was designed as a way to understand student college readiness. The PSAT is a practice test meant to help gauge student learning and identify academic needs.</p><p>Colorado uses the PSAT and SAT exams as part of its suite of standardized exams to measure school performance and to determine whether students in grades nine through 11 have learned the necessary math and reading skills for their grade level.</p><p><aside id="UBNVky" class="sidebar float-right"><p id="avjq4O">Read our other stories on the 2023 Colorado CMAS results</p><p id="689AsM"><a href="https://chalkbeat.admin.usechorus.com/e/23599027">Colorado CMAS 2023 test results are out: Look up your school or district here</a></p></aside></p><p>In using the SAT to account for student progress, Colorado also provides a utility for students, who can submit their scores as part of their college applications. But Colorado has made the SAT and ACT optional in admissions to public universities. The 2021 change has likely contributed to fewer students taking the exams.&nbsp;</p><p>Overall, participation on the SAT test dropped to 86.6% of students statewide. In 2019, the participation rate was 92.6%. Participation in the ninth and 10th grade PSATs has also dropped, to about 85%. A dip in <a href="https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/state-test-results-are-in-are-they-useless/2021/10">participation means the results provide a less reliable snapshot of what students know</a>.</p><p>Scores on the SAT range from 200 to 800 in reading and math. A perfect score on the SAT is a 1600.</p><p>Colorado students averaged a composite score of 990 this year, down from 1,001 in 2019 and <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=171">below the national average of just above 1,000</a>.</p><p>PSAT scores for 10th graders can range from 160 to 760 on both the math and reading tests, with a maximum total score of 1520. For ninth graders, the range is from 120 to 720 in each subject, with a top combined score of 1440.</p><p>Colorado 10th graders scored a composite of 930, down from 938 in 2019. And ninth graders scored a composite of 891, down from 906 in 2019.&nbsp;</p><p>State scores might be lower than the rest of the nation on the PSAT and SAT because — even if fewer students are taking the test than in 2019 — more Colorado students take the test than in many other states, which can drive down the average.</p><p><a href="http://www.cde.state.co.us/assessment/satcutscores">Colorado sets a threshold</a> of 530 or higher on reading and writing and 480 on math on the SAT to determine which high school students meet or exceed grade-level expectation. On the PSAT 10, students are expected to score a 480 on writing and reading and a 430 on math. And on the PSAT 9, students are expected to score a reading and writing score of 450 and a math score of 410.&nbsp;</p><p>In SAT reading and writing, 58.9% of students met or exceeded Colorado’s expectations. The rate was within a percentage point of 2019 levels, when 58.6% of students met or exceeded expectations.</p><p>In SAT math, 35.2% of students met or exceeded expectations. That’s compared with 39% in 2019.</p><p>On the PSAT 10 reading and writing, 64.5% of students met or exceeded expectations, compared with 64.9% in 2019. In math, 38% met or exceeded, down from 39.1% in 2019</p><p>And in PSAT 9 reading and writing, 63.6% of students met or exceeded expectations; in 2019, the rate was 66.5%. In math, 46.6% met or exceeded this year. In 2019, 49.6% met or exceeded expectations.</p><p>State officials said they want to boost participation on the test.</p><p>Joyce Zurkowski, the Colorado Department of Education’s chief assessment officer, said students might be questioning the utility of the test especially when it comes to getting into a college or university.</p><p>Lawmakers approved the Colorado measure in 2021 to make college-readiness tests optional to admissions in the hopes it would help more first-generation and low-income students get to college. They’re two groups that typically don’t do as well on standardized testing.</p><p>“We do have some ongoing issues with urging all students to see themselves in those assessments and a place for them to participate and benefit from them,” Zurkowski said.</p><p>This is the last year Colorado students will take the PSAT and SAT tests on paper. Next year, <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/13/23638638/colorado-psat-sat-standardized-college-test-academic-performance-college-board">students will take the tests online</a>.</p><p>You can see state and district SAT and PSAT results here:</p><p><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/authors/jason-gonzales"><em>Jason Gonzales</em></a><em> is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with </em><a href="https://www.opencampusmedia.org/"><em>Open Campus</em></a><em> on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at </em><a href="mailto:jgonzales@chalkbeat.org"><em>jgonzales@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/8/17/23834896/colorado-2023-sat-psat-test-results/Jason Gonzales2023-08-17T17:00:00+00:002023-08-17T17:00:00+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with education news from Denver and around the state.</em> &nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://chalkbeat.admin.usechorus.com/e/23599260"><em><strong>Leer en español</strong></em></a></p><p>Colorado released test results Thursday from this spring’s round of standardized tests given to public school students in third through eighth grades.</p><p>Overall, <a href="https://chalkbeat.admin.usechorus.com/e/23599456">scores have improved slightly over last year</a>, but still, fewer students are meeting expectations in 2023 than in 2019. <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/17/23309904/cmas-results-2022-colorado-state-testing-by-school-district">The trend is similar to 2022</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>The number of fourth and eighth graders who could read and write at or above grade level this past spring remains more than 4 percentage points behind the share who could do so in 2019. Seventh and eighth graders are similarly behind in math. Each percentage point represents thousands of students not meeting expectations and less prepared for the next grade.&nbsp;</p><p>At the same time, fifth and sixth graders are posting similar scores in reading and writing to their peers five years ago, and in math, all elementary students are.&nbsp;</p><p>When broken down by grade level, only one group of students did better than their counterparts in 2019: fifth graders in math. This year, 36.5% of fifth graders met or exceeded expectations in math, up from 35.7% who did in 2019.</p><p>Gaps remain large and persistent. Multilingual learners seem to be among the students state officials say could be falling farther behind.&nbsp;</p><p>Our searchable table below allows you to search for your school or district, and compare it to the state averages for both math and English language arts. The table shows the percentage of tested students who met or exceeded expectations in each subject.&nbsp;</p><p>The results will be used in school and district ratings which could be released later this month.</p><p><em>Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at yrobles@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/8/17/23834986/colorado-cmas-2023-test-results-scores-find-your-school-district/Yesenia Robles, Erica Meltzer2023-08-17T11:00:00+00:002023-08-17T11:00:00+00:00<p>The share of third graders passing the state’s IREAD literacy test rose slightly in most Marion County school districts this year, although none have returned to pre-pandemic rates.&nbsp;</p><p>The majority of Marion County districts and<strong> </strong>charter schools<strong> </strong>also remain well below the statewide pass rate of 81% for public school students.&nbsp;</p><p>Passing rates for Indianapolis Public Schools, the city’s largest district, declined from 62.8% last year to 60.6% this year. The rates for schools in Speedway, Perry and Franklin Townships also fell. Meanwhile, scores rose in seven other township districts, including Decatur, Warren, and Washington.</p><p>Proficiency rates for independent charter schools within or near Indianapolis Public School borders rose slightly as a whole, but are still far below their pre-pandemic pass rate of about 84% in 2019.</p><p>And charters within the IPS Innovation Network — which are run independently but are considered part of the district — also showed slight improvement overall.&nbsp;</p><p>The results for Indianapolis schools show the pandemic’s ongoing disruption to students in the early grades, which educators and others consider crucial for building students’ literacy skills.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>In a statement, IPS said the district’s drop “further reinforces the need for the investments we have made to date, as well as new investments we will make in literacy throughout the district that are critical for student achievement.”</p><p>Districts and individual schools that improved significantly from last year highlighted efforts like a <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2022/7/6/23197448/summer-learning-labs-indianapolis-education-pandemic-curriculum-recreation">local summer learning initiative</a>, <a href="https://www.in.gov/doe/about/news/indiana-department-of-education-announces-69-schools-to-launch-reading-and-stem-coaching-this-fall/">state-funded coaching for teachers</a>, and embracing training in the science of reading, which emphasizes phonetic instruction and science-backed ways of learning.&nbsp;</p><p>“We really leaned heavily into the science of reading, given the number of second-language learners we have,” said Alicia Hervey, founder and executive director of the Path School at Stephen Foster School 67, an Innovation charter school where the IREAD passing rate jumped more than 13 points from last year to 35.8%.&nbsp;</p><h2>Warren Township schools see biggest growth on IREAD</h2><p>IREAD scores for school districts across Marion County showed only slight increases or decreases, mirroring a stagnation in both the <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/16/23833474/iread-results-indiana-2023-school-lookup-third-grade-database-idoe-reading-test">latest statewide IREAD</a> and <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/12/23791540/ilearn-2023-indiana-test-scores-explained-decline-reading-math-proficiency">ILEARN results</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Among township school districts and IPS, Warren Township schools improved the most since 2022, increasing from 64.7% to 69.8%.&nbsp;</p><p>Ryan Russell, associate superintendent for Warren Township schools, said the district made K-3 literacy a priority last school year, focusing on training K-3 staff on the science of reading over the past three years.&nbsp;</p><p><aside id="c1s1qP" class="sidebar float-right"><h2 id="4T8utr">About our reporting</h2><p id="dUDTjy">This article was published as part of a partnership between Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI to increase coverage of township school districts in Marion County.</p><p id="vcmvht">Have a tip or story idea about a township school district? Email <a href="mailto:in.tips@chalkbeat.org">in.tips@chalkbeat.org</a> and <a href="mailto:tips@wfyi.org">tips@wfyi.org</a> or <a href="https://forms.gle/tbTcdhzE3iFNyoAx6">fill out this form</a>.</p><p id="pDmlbj"><a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/marion-county-indiana-townships-schools-news">See all of the township stories here</a>.</p></aside></p><p>All nine of the district’s elementary schools also participated in the state’s literacy coaching program, which guided the district’s own literacy coaches and teacher leaders.&nbsp;</p><p>But like all other school districts, Warren Township schools still have significant gains to make before reaching the district’s 78% passing rate of 2019. The biggest such gap is in Perry Township schools, where the gap between 2019 and 2023 IREAD scores is approximately 12 percentage points.</p><p>Russell said the district’s goal is to grow by 10% every year, reaching pre-pandemic levels at the end of this school year.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’re certainly celebrating our growth and we are happy to experience that growth, but at the same time we realize how critical of a measuring stick this is for our students and their future,” he said.&nbsp;</p><h2>Independent charter schools outperform IPS</h2><p>Independent charter schools in or near IPS boundaries continue to perform better than IPS as a whole, but also remain well below the statewide average.&nbsp;</p><p>The K-5 Ace Preparatory Academy, where the proficiency rate rose more than 14 percentage points to 76.3%, also participated in the state’s literacy coaching program to provide guidance for the school’s literacy coach.&nbsp;</p><p>Principal Amanda Liles also attributes the growth to the school’s small class sizes, its focus on student data, the skill and consistency of the school’s teachers, and an extended literacy-focused teaching period of 90 minutes.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’ve really been intentional about how we interpret our student data and how we help our scholars understand what that means for them as far as their growth,” she said.</p><p>Black students in independent charters for which disaggregated data was available had higher pass rates as a whole compared to Black students in IPS, with 67% of students passing. Data for some schools, however, wasn’t publicly reported by the state due to the small number of Black students taking the test.&nbsp;</p><p>The number of Hispanic and white students in many independent and Innovation charters was also too small to reach a firm conclusion about their success compared to their peers in traditional school districts.&nbsp;</p><p>Among all Marion County districts, IPS had the highest gap in the passing rate between white and Black students, with 52.6% of Black students passing compared to 83.9% of white students. The gap in IPS between white and Hispanic students is also the greatest of all the Marion County school districts, with 50.7% of Hispanic students passing the test.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>But the IPS statement pointed to some “bright spots” from this year’s data, noting that eight schools outperformed the state average for Black students.</p><p>The district’s Emerging Schools, which are a set of low-performing schools, made gains that on average outpaced&nbsp;state gains, the district said.</p><h2>Restart charters had significant score increases and decreases</h2><p>The passing rate at IPS Innovation charters, meanwhile, increased as a whole from roughly 46% to nearly 51%. But at Innovation Restart schools, which are <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/3/23665345/indianapolis-public-schools-restart-charter-operators-test-scores-ilearn-iread-curriculum-teachers">chronically underperforming schools</a> that charter operators are trying to improve, there was significant variation.&nbsp;</p><p>Four schools’ scores dropped from last year’s passing rates: Global Prep, Phalen Leadership Academy (PLA) at Francis Scott Key 103, Adelante Schools at Emma Donnan Elementary, and Liberty Grove Schools at Elder Diggs School 42.</p><p>But there was sufficient improvement at the remaining four&nbsp; — the Path School, Urban Act Academy at Washington Irving School 14, Matchbook Learning at Wendell Phillips School 63, and PLA at Louis B. Russell School 48 — for the overall passing rate at Innovation Restart schools to rise.&nbsp;</p><p>The Path School required students who did not pass the IREAD in the spring to attend an <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2022/7/6/23197448/summer-learning-labs-indianapolis-education-pandemic-curriculum-recreation">Indy Summer Learning Lab</a> that helped a few more students pass the test over the summer, Hervey said. The school also did after-school tutoring twice a week, she said.&nbsp;</p><p>Still, the school’s 35.8% pass rate is well below the 61.3% rate from 2018-19, two years before School 67 became a charter school. Hervey said the school’s goal is to reach a 95% pass rate.</p><p>“I do expect we’ll be around 80% over the next few years,” she said.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at </em><a href="mailto:apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org"><em>apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>. </em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/indiana/2023/8/17/23834938/indianapolis-iread-scores-2023-third-grade-reading-state-assessment-indiana-charter-schools-township/Amelia Pak-Harvey2023-08-16T19:21:56+00:002023-08-16T14:39:50+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news. &nbsp;</em></p><p>Indiana students’ reading scores have been virtually unchanged for three years, according to new test data, underscoring fears about students’ struggles to recover from the pandemic</p><p>More than four out of five third graders — just under 82%&nbsp;— passed the Indiana reading exam, the IREAD, in 2023. Yet that’s approximately the same rate as in 2021 and 2022, and several percentage points below the passing rate from 2019, when 87.3% of all students passed the test.&nbsp;</p><p>The results, released by the state on Wednesday, tell a similar story to scores released last month from the statewide assessment for grades 3-8, <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/12/23791540/ilearn-2023-indiana-test-scores-explained-decline-reading-math-proficiency">the ILEARN</a>. Both exams showed student performance has stagnated in reading over the last three years.&nbsp;</p><p>The IREAD scores come as the state undertakes an overhaul of literacy instruction to implement <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/25/23737924/indiana-science-of-reading-standards-law-phonics-requirements-literacy-curriculum-change">the science of reading</a> — a body of research that emphasizes five pillars of literacy that help students decode words — in an effort to improve students’ reading skills.&nbsp;</p><p>Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said at Wednesday’s State Board of Education meeting that the increase in IREAD scores of 0.7 percentage points since 2021 is not insignificant.&nbsp;</p><p>“If we increase that small amount, year over year, it will be years and years and thousands and thousands of kids,” Jenner said. “So, you’re going to hear it over and over, the sense of urgency that we feel in supporting our schools and supporting our parents and families who we need at the table with us in order to make sure all kids can read.”</p><p>Nearly 15,000 third graders didn’t pass the exam and will need additional support to meet reading standards, per the Indiana Department of Education.</p><p>IREAD scores for most student groups changed by less than one percentage point this year, with a few notable exceptions.&nbsp;</p><p>Black students’ scores appear to be recovering faster than many other groups, with their proficiency rates rising by 1.5 percentage points from 2022 to 2023. Scores for students in special education also rose by 2 percentage points.</p><p>Scores for Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students — a group of around 86 students total — rose 7.5 points in 2023. The group is the only student demographic or socioeconomic category to have recovered to pre-pandemic proficiency rates.&nbsp;</p><p>No student groups posted precipitous drops this year, though scores for both Hispanic and American Indian students declined by just under one percentage point each.&nbsp;</p><p>Last year, English learners’ IREAD proficiency rates <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/10/23298854/indiana-iread-2022-results-flat-english-learner-student-group-gaps">dropped 8.5 percentage points</a> from 2021, prompting Department of Education officials to raise the alarm about their performance.&nbsp;The group’s scores showed virtually no change this year, and remain around 20 percentage points below their non-English learner peers.&nbsp;</p><p>Charity Flores, the state education department’s chief academic officer, told Chalkbeat that schools will need to reflect on and discuss their IREAD data, especially regarding English learners. This process includes program evaluations and in-depth collaboration between general education teachers and English language instructors regarding the science of reading.</p><p>“That can unify some of those conversations that happen locally between educators to make sure whether they’re students in the general education classroom, or receiving specific services in another classroom, they’re using the same strategies in both of those environments,” Flores said.</p><p>Look up scores for your school in the table below.</p><p>In Indianapolis Public Schools, the state’s largest district, 60.6% of students tested proficient this year, a decline of 2.2 percentage points from last year. The district had rolled out its own tutoring programs to focus on math and reading skills in 2022, including offering <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/10/23629236/learning-loss-tutoring-students-pandemic-funds-covid">free virtual tutoring</a> for all students.</p><p>That decline reinforces the need for continued investments in literacy by IPS, said district spokesperson Marc Ransford. Those include in “curriculum, educator training, and professional development programs,” he said.</p><h2>Science of reading push informs curriculum, teaching shifts</h2><p>The state has this year pushed to align its curriculum and teacher training methods to the science of reading.&nbsp;</p><p>As part of that effort, a pilot program <a href="https://www.in.gov/doe/about/news/indiana-department-of-education-announces-69-schools-to-launch-reading-and-stem-coaching-this-fall/">placed literacy instructional coaches</a> in 54 schools during the 2022-2023 school year, in order to help teachers train on reading science principles.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>The pass rate among those schools was 71.8% — approximately a 1.8 percentage point increase from 2022.&nbsp;</p><p>One of the first districts to adopt the <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/18/23311738/indiana-lilly-endowment-phonics-reading-literacy-instruction-coaching">instructional coaching model,</a> Anderson Community Schools, showed a 1.4 point increase in proficiency rates over 2022; however, there were fewer students tested in 2023. (That was due to a drop in student enrollment, said Brad Meadows, director of district and community engagement for the district.)</p><p>Meadows said the district was “very encouraged by the higher pass rates this year” and that it expects scores to continue rising in future years.</p><p>Anderson Schools has literacy instructional coaches at all its elementary schools. The coaches focus on working with students in kindergarten to second grade, but are also helping to bring the science of reading to all elementary school students, Meadows said.</p><p>The state education department said 200 schools have opted to work with those <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/15/23833150/how-i-teach-indiana-2023-science-of-reading-literacy-coach">literacy coaches</a> via the Indiana Literacy Cadre for this academic year. For the 2024-25 academic year, Jenner said all schools with an IREAD passing rate of 70% or lower will join the cadre. By 2025, she said the goal is to have 600 schools in the cadre that receive support from coaches.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>The department is also partnering with the Center for Vibrant Schools at Marian University to offer a new course for teachers across the state to receive science of reading instruction, announced Wednesday.&nbsp;</p><p>These different efforts to improve literacy instruction follow <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/21/23768637/science-reading-curriculum-teachers-colleges-preparation-programs-lilly-grant-nctq-report">recently released rules</a> for teacher prep programs that would require new teachers to be capable of implementing science of reading practices by 2025. Jenner said the department and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education will communicate their expectations on this requirement to college and university leadership across the state.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><em>Chalkbeat reporter Amelia Pak-Harvey contributed to this article.</em></p><p><em>Jade Thomas is a summer reporting intern covering education in the Indianapolis area. Contact Jade at&nbsp;</em><a href="mailto:jthomas@chalkbeat.org"><em>jthomas@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at </em><a href="mailto:aappleton@chalkbeat.org"><em>aappleton@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/indiana/2023/8/16/23833474/iread-results-indiana-2023-school-lookup-third-grade-database-idoe-reading-test/Aleksandra Appleton, Jade Thomas2023-08-15T20:26:31+00:002023-08-15T20:26:31+00:00<p>Summer school might be more popular than ever — at least among educators trying to address unprecedented declines in student learning.</p><p>With the help of COVID relief money — some of which was earmarked for this very purpose — schools across the country have <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/3/30/22359131/summer-school-covid-stimulus-lessons-best-practices-strategies-research">expanded</a> learning opportunities over multiple summers. Officials say summer school is no longer just for kids who need to make up classes to move up a grade, but for a broader swath of students who have <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/11/23787212/nwea-learning-loss-academic-recovery-testing-data-covid">fallen behind</a> since the pandemic began.</p><p>So has summer school worked as a learning loss recovery strategy?&nbsp;</p><p>A new study, the most comprehensive analysis to date of <a href="https://caldercenter.org/publications/summer-school-learning-loss-recovery-strategy-after-covid-19-evidence-summer-2022">pandemic-era summer learning</a>, says the answer is: kind of.&nbsp;</p><p>Students who attended school over&nbsp; the summer of 2022 saw their math scores improve, according to the research. This offers some of the first concrete evidence that a key learning loss strategy is working. However, those gains were modest, and there were no improvements in reading. And since only a fraction of students went to summer school, it barely made a dent in total learning loss.&nbsp;</p><p>Overall, the latest research suggests that some catch-up efforts are paying off, but may be insufficient to return students to their pre-pandemic trajectories.</p><p>“It’s a glass-half-full, glass-half-empty story,” said Dan Goldhaber, coauthor of the study and a professor at the University of Washington. While summer school had a positive impact, he said, “only a small slice of the damage that was done from the pandemic is recovered from summer school.”</p><h2>Summer learning helps, but benefits are modest</h2><p>The <a href="https://caldercenter.org/publications/summer-school-learning-loss-recovery-strategy-after-covid-19-evidence-summer-2022">new research</a>, released by a team of scholars with the education research group CALDER, examines the impact of summer school last year in eight districts, including those in Dallas, Portland, and Tulsa.</p><p>Summer programs varied from place to place, but they typically ran between 15 to 20 days, with an hour to two of academic instruction each day. Districts usually allowed anyone to participate, but also targeted invites to struggling students. Summer school was open to students in elementary and middle grades, and, in a few places, high school.</p><p>Somewhere between 5% and 20% of students participated in summer school, depending on the district. Goldhaber noted that some districts had open spots, perhaps indicating <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/3/23/22992779/learning-loss-school-extended-day-year">low demand</a> among families or insufficient recruitment efforts. Participating students attended about two thirds of the time — highlighting the <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/3/30/22359131/summer-school-covid-stimulus-lessons-best-practices-strategies-research">perennial problem</a> of absenteeism in summer school.&nbsp;</p><p>On the more encouraging side: Summer school students were more likely to be struggling academically, suggesting that officials were successful in recruiting kids who were most in need of extra learning time.</p><p>Researchers compared test scores of summer school students versus similar kids who didn’t attend over the summer. To start the next school year, summer school students had slightly higher scores in math, though not reading. There was clear evidence of math gains in five of the eight districts.</p><p>“The simple takeaway is something’s working,” said Goldhaber.&nbsp;</p><p>The researchers note that it’s possible that those students made more gains not because of summer programming, but because their families were more motivated to help them catch up.</p><p>Still, the new research offers some support for one of the <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/3/30/22359131/summer-school-covid-stimulus-lessons-best-practices-strategies-research">most common</a> learning-loss <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2021/9/22/22688282/tennessee-first-summer-learning-camps-reading-math-results">recovery</a> <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2022/9/8/23323602/detroit-public-schools-community-district-math-learning-loss-covid-recovery-tutoring">strategies</a> since the pandemic began, including over this most recent summer.&nbsp;</p><p>Newark Public Schools, for instance, <a href="https://newark.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/3/23817714/newark-nj-summer-school-tutoring-academic-recovery-reading-literacy-math">required</a> 10,000 struggling students to attend summer school this year, double that of last year. The district is selling it as an extension of regular schooling. “We’re working to engage parents and make sure they understand that their kids aren’t done just because it’s summer,”&nbsp; a summer school principal previously told Chalkbeat. “If you miss school, we make calls.”&nbsp;</p><p>Denver launched a “summer connections” program which focused on “accelerating” students by providing instruction for their incoming grade level, rather than reviewing material. An internal <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/7/23787550/denver-summer-school-summer-connections-esser-funding-academic-results">analysis</a> found, unlike the CALDER study, that participating students did not make noticeable test score improvements compared to those who didn’t go to summer school. (Teachers and parents did say that students had made social growth, and nearly all students said they had made friends in the program.)</p><p>But even when it is effective, summer school can only go so far in making up pandemic-era <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/11/23787212/nwea-learning-loss-academic-recovery-testing-data-covid">learning loss</a>.</p><p>The CALDER researchers estimate that summer learning closed only 2% to 3% of the pandemic-induced learning gap in math. In other words, the impact, relative to the size of the problem, was tiny. This reflects the fact that summer school is, by its nature, limited in scope. Summer learning added only a small bit of time for a small fraction of students.&nbsp;</p><p>The researchers say that summer school could close the math gap only if every student attended over multiple years. This would amount to extending the school year — an idea that <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/3/23/22992779/learning-loss-school-extended-day-year">has not proven</a> popular with school officials or parents.</p><p>Schools have also added staff, tutoring programs, and after-school time, among other catch-up efforts. To date there is <a href="https://caldercenter.org/publications/challenges-implementing-academic-covid-recovery-interventions-evidence-road-recovery">limited research</a> on the efficacy of these approaches. Some of them, <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/17/23795007/paper-online-tutoring-often-fails-students">particularly online tutoring</a>, have faced challenges reaching struggling students.&nbsp;</p><p>Data from the testing company NWEA through the end of last school year <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/11/23787212/nwea-learning-loss-academic-recovery-testing-data-covid">found that</a> students remain substantially behind where they would be if not for the pandemic. Results <a href="https://statetestscoreresults.substack.com/p/delaware-and-west-virginia">from a handful</a> of state tests also show that students remain behind, but suggest that students in some states have been catching up to pre-pandemic levels.</p><p><em>Matt Barnum is interim national editor, overseeing and contributing to Chalkbeat’s coverage of national education issues. Contact him at mbarnum@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/15/23833338/pandemic-covid-summer-school-learning-loss-recovery-research/Matt Barnum2023-08-10T21:51:07+00:002023-08-10T21:51:07+00:00<p>Maybe there is such a thing as a free lunch, after all.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/10/23827877/free-school-meals-lunch-breakfast-universal-programs-states-students">Chalkbeat recently reported that a growing number of states</a> — including California, Maine, and Michigan — are now offering breakfast and lunch at school to all students free of charge.&nbsp;</p><p>Statewide policies like these are new, but the practice of providing universal free meals isn’t. And researchers have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7427252/#bib19">been studying</a> this for years. That means we have a good sense of what these state policies will mean for students, families, and schools.&nbsp;</p><p>In short, research suggests that universal school meal programs accomplish their main goal: expand access to breakfast and lunch at school. Relatedly, families with children at schools with universal meals are less likely to struggle to afford groceries. Free meals may also reduce lunch <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2021/8/16/22627981/universal-lunch-may-help-nyc-students-view-their-schools-as-safer-places-a-report-finds">stigma</a> and school administrative <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/usda-cep-characteristics-study-sy-2016-17">burdens</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Universal meals may create academic benefits, too: Some studies show that they improve students’ test scores or attendance rates. Here, though, the evidence is equivocal. Other studies do not show clear benefits or only find them for certain groups of students.&nbsp;</p><p>Whether providing universal meals is a good idea may not come down to empirical evidence, though, but moral judgments. Critics point to the costs of the program and argue that it may <a href="https://www.educationnext.org/theres-no-free-lunch-forum-expand-access-free-school-food/">foster dependency</a> on government.&nbsp;</p><p>To some supporters of universal free school meals, the academic benefits are nice, but the case does not rest on them.&nbsp;</p><p>“It’s fundamentally immoral to suggest that the public should only provide meals to hungry kids if we can prove that we get better scores on math tests,” said Conor Williams, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank. “We should provide meals to hungry kids … because we’re a rich country and kids deserve a dignified childhood where their basic needs are met.”&nbsp;</p><p>Here’s what we know from research on free school meals.</p><p><strong>(</strong><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/10/23827877/free-school-meals-lunch-breakfast-universal-programs-states-students"><em><strong>Read Chalkbeat’s&nbsp;accompanying coverage on why many states have adopted universal school meals and whether more will follow.</strong></em></a><em><strong>)</strong></em></p><h2>Universal meals expand access — including for poorer families</h2><p>Universal free school meal programs do in fact increase the share of students who grab that slice of pizza or fruit cup. One <a href="https://jhr.uwpress.org/content/57/3/776">national study</a> found that the shift increased the number of breakfasts served by 38% and the number of lunches by 12%. Other <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pam.22175">research</a> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775719307605">shows</a> similar increases.&nbsp;</p><p>This makes sense: When school meals are free, more students take advantage of them. The shift is significant but not dramatic because many kids already got lunch from school while others will still prefer to bring food from home.</p><p>Research also hints at a less intuitive result: Universal meals may benefit students from poorer families. This is more surprising because kids from low-income families already have access to federally subsidized school meals. (Children from a family of four <a href="https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/federal-poverty-level-fpl/">qualify for reduced-price meals</a> if their household income is below $55,500 and free meals below $39,000.)</p><p>Still, research in New York City has found that universal access increases participation among students from low-income families in both <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775713000885">breakfast</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pam.22175">lunch</a> programs.</p><p>There may be a number of reasons for this. Reduced paperwork and stigma could lead more students to participate. So could the shift from reduced-price to free meals. And students whose families have modest incomes may be ineligible some years when their families earn a bit more than the eligibility threshold.&nbsp;</p><h2>Free school meals help families afford food</h2><p>Research also suggests that universal breakfast and lunch in school affect families’ grocery budget more generally.</p><p>One <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3899868">study</a> found that the expansion of free school meals led to a small drop in nearby food bank usage. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167629622000650">Another paper</a> found that universal meals reduced families’ grocery bills by 5% each month. Similarly, it cut the share of families considered “food insecure” by 5%, including among families who were previously eligible for subsidized school meals. This suggests, the researchers say, that “the stigma of free school meals may be declining after universal access.”</p><p>A <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w29384">third study</a> also found a reduction in grocery spending after universal school meals. This in turn led grocery stores to cut their prices by about 2.5%. “This paper demonstrates that the National School Lunch Program delivers a substantial indirect benefit to communities,” researchers wrote.</p><p>Keep in mind: These studies do not consider the costs of universal school meals, which could come through slightly higher taxes or reductions in other government spending. How this is paid for will vary from state to state.</p><h2>Universal free meals may improve school climate</h2><p>Advocates have long suggested that offering free meals for all reduces school meal–related stigma — which can come from peers or <a href="https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/presidential-candidates-seize-on-viral-lunch-shaming-stories/2019/06">administrative “lunch shaming”</a> due to unpaid meal debt.</p><p>There do not appear to be many studies on this, but one recent <a href="https://www.edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai21-430.pdf">paper</a> finds support for the idea. In New York City, universal meals led to reductions in bullying, according to surveys of students.&nbsp;</p><p>“What I found pleasantly surprising was that it improves the school climate for all students,” researcher Emily Gutierrez previously <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2021/8/16/22627981/universal-lunch-may-help-nyc-students-view-their-schools-as-safer-places-a-report-finds">told Chalkbeat</a>. “It’s sort of this whole school ripple effect.”&nbsp;</p><h2>Inconsistent evidence of academic benefits from free meals </h2><p>Research on the academic effects of free school meals has produced a range of findings.</p><p>For instance, studies in New York City found improved test scores due to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pam.22175">free lunch</a>, but not free <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775713000885">breakfast</a>. In <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775719307605">South Carolina</a>, free meals boosted math test scores and attendance rates among elementary school students. There weren’t clear effects for middle schoolers.&nbsp;</p><p>In some cases, there were improvements on certain dimensions but not others. A <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/2184637416?pq-origsite=gscholar&amp;fromopenview=true">Tennessee</a> study found lower discipline rates, but no impact on test scores or attendance. In <a href="https://epic.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1268/2021/09/EPIC_CEP-Policy-Brief_FINAL.pdf">North Carolina</a>, universal meals improved attendance rates in elementary and middle school and reduced suspensions in middle and high school, although test score effects were uneven. An Oregon <a href="https://www2.census.gov/ces/wp/2022/CES-WP-22-23.pdf">study</a> found declines in suspensions, while a Georgia <a href="https://gpl.gsu.edu/publications/school-meal-provision/">paper</a> found no impact on attendance.</p><p>Broader studies have also produced uneven results. One <a href="https://jhr.uwpress.org/content/57/3/776">national study</a> showed that universal meals did not improve test scores overall. But for schools that had low rates of meal participation beforehand, test scores in math improved slightly. Another national <a href="https://direct.mit.edu/edfp/article-abstract/16/3/418/97120/Schoolwide-Free-Meals-and-Student-Discipline?redirectedFrom=fulltext#">paper</a> showed reductions in suspension rates for certain student groups. An experimental <a href="https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w20308/w20308.pdf">study</a> found that universal breakfast programs had no clear impact on test scores, attendance, or tardiness.&nbsp;</p><p>Overall, the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7427252/#bib19">research suggests</a> that there may be some academic benefits from expanding free meal access. But such gains are not consistent. This is not too surprising. Free meals do not target academics and only change meal access for a small share of students, since many previously got meals at school.</p><p>In other words, while policymakers might not want to pursue universal meals as a strategy for raising test scores or other academic outcomes, some improvements might be a welcome side benefit.</p><p><em>Matt Barnum is interim national editor, overseeing and contributing to Chalkbeat’s coverage of national education issues. Contact him at mbarnum@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/10/23825754/free-universal-school-meals-lunch-breakfast-research-studies-bullying-groceries-academics-states/Matt Barnum2023-08-08T00:36:38+00:002023-08-08T00:36:38+00:00<p><a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/8/10/23827636/estudiantes-y-padres-sienten-emocion-y-esperanza-por-el-nuevo-ano-escolar-en-adam-14"><em><strong>Leer en español</strong></em></a></p><p>Getting ahead of most school districts in the state, Adams 14 students started a new school year Monday, nervous, excited, and curious about possible changes the district might roll out.&nbsp;</p><p>Adams 14 is expected to be making changes as part of its turnaround as the first district in the state ordered into reorganization after many years of low ratings in state performance measures. Most parents and students were unaware of the turnaround changes, and some were curious about what to expect.&nbsp;</p><p>Most students at the high school didn’t know about the school’s <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/7/23499212/adams-14-school-improvement-plan-adams-city-high-school-community-schools">plans to create career academies</a> in health sciences and human services; architecture, construction, engineering and design; business, hospitality and tourism; and digital information and technology. The district has said ninth graders would eventually pick one of the four academies, or paths, that can give them certifications along with their high school diplomas.&nbsp;</p><p>Some students don’t expect much to change. However, many already had their schedules in hand as they walked into school — an important improvement over some past years when students reported waiting days in the auditorium to get a schedule.&nbsp;</p><p>At Monaco Elementary, parents walked their little ones, carrying stuffed backpacks, boxes of tissues, and other supplies, to wait for their teachers to take them into their first day of classes.</p><p>Monaco is receiving students this year from former Hanson Elementary which the district closed due to declining enrollment and to make more room for the alternative high school. Parents of Hanson students said their kids were nervous, but fortunately found former teachers and classmates among the friendly faces at their new school.</p><p>“They’re very excited now that they found out a lot of their friends moved with them,” said parent Tabitha Amaya. Her first and third graders were still getting used to the new school building, but besides praising the lunch and recess periods of the day, were excited to have a science class this year. “That’s the highlight.”</p><p>For Amaya, one concern remains: how she’ll manage to get her kids to school on Thursdays. The district announced that this year they’ll have classes start two hours later once a week to allow teachers more time to plan or train.&nbsp;</p><p>“With both parents working, it’s kind of hard,” Amaya said. She said Monaco leaders had reached out to her to hear her concerns, seemingly looking for a solution, she thought, but she hasn’t heard back.</p><p>“I guess we’ll see Thursday,” Amaya said.</p><p>Adams 14 has about 6,100 students and still has an uncertain future. Reorganization could mean school closures or nearby districts taking control over the district’s schools, but the plan has to be shaped and approved by the community, and leaders appointed to the reorganization committee support letting Adams 14 continue to operate as is.&nbsp;</p><p>Much of that work remains on hold while the district <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/1/23621113/colorado-supreme-court-state-board-education-adams-14-appeal-school-accountability">awaits a Colorado Supreme Court decision</a> as it argues the state doesn’t have the ability to order a school district to close. In the meantime, district leaders are counting on Superintendent Karla Loria’s new administration to drive academic improvements that multiple past administrations have been unable to accomplish.&nbsp;</p><p>District leadership refused an interview to talk about the work that’s going into those improvements. Parents said they’re unaware of what changes are happening, but are hopeful for a good school year.</p><p>Angelica Munoz said she just moved to Commerce City and isn’t aware of any of the district changes, but heard from her sister-in-law that Monaco was a “wonderful school.”</p><p>Her daughter loved her first day of kindergarten.</p><p>“She can’t wait to go back tomorrow,” Munoz said. “She said they were doing a lot of reading. I think that’s good.”</p><p>Carlos Cabrera has a son, 14, with special needs, who is starting at Adams City High School this year.&nbsp;</p><p>Cabrera said his son was worried about the bigger school, older students, and more social interactions, and he was concerned because his son doesn’t communicate much.&nbsp;</p><p>But after school, Cabrera said it seemed to go well.</p><p>“He said he likes the teachers,” he said. “It looks like it went good.”</p><p>Cabrera said that in the morning he walked into the school with his son, but didn’t get a lot of information. The school said they’d let him know about the academies later.&nbsp;</p><p>Jason Malmberg, the president of the district’s teachers union, said he and other teachers are most excited about the district’s continued work to roll out the community school model.&nbsp;</p><p>The model, which seeks to bring community resources into the schools such as food pantries, parents classes, or after-school care, to address external factors that impact learning, <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/7/23499212/adams-14-school-improvement-plan-adams-city-high-school-community-schools">is being rolled out first at Central Elementary</a>, one of the lower-performing schools in the district. Malmberg said he and other leaders applied this summer for some grant funding to try to pay for the work to roll out the model districtwide.&nbsp;</p><p>“There’s a model that pretends race and class and poverty have no impact on education,” Malmberg said. “We are trying to do a different model, a model that elevates the voice of the community, that responds to the needs of that community.”</p><p>Malmberg, along with district and community leaders, believe the state’s performance ratings ignore the impact that the high concentration of poverty and other social and environmental challenges have on the ability for students in Adams 14 to be able to learn or demonstrate learning on a standardized test. They’re interested in having the school district address some of those challenges first and believe that over time, that may lead to some academic improvements.&nbsp;</p><p>“We really feel like this is the answer: investing in the community. But it’s not a quick fix.”</p><p><em>Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at yrobles@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/8/7/23823782/adams-14-first-day-school-adams-city-high-turnaround/Yesenia Robles2023-08-07T02:00:00+00:002023-08-07T02:00:00+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with Memphis-Shelby County Schools and statewide education policy.</em></p><p>Memphis-Shelby County Schools students return to class Monday for the 2023-24 school year.</p><p>This one could be less turbulent than recent years, but no less consequential, as the district confronts key decisions about <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/28/23777880/memphis-shelby-county-schools-superintendent-search-restart-select-2024">its next leader</a>, the <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/1/27/23574527/tennessee-school-building-construction-repair-infrastructure-report">future of its school buildings</a>, its strategy for improving student <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/18/23799417/memphis-shelby-county-schools-tcap-tennessee-test-scores-2023-pandemic">academic performance</a> and <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/11/15/23461002/memphis-shelby-county-schools-homeless-students-families-affordable-housing-insecurity-covid">wellness</a>, and its <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2021/3/19/22340483/heres-what-your-tennessee-district-will-get-from-bidens-unprecedented-federal-investment-in-schools">budget for the post-pandemic era</a>.</p><p>Here’s a closer look at five key issues that the district will face this school year:</p><h2>Search for a superintendent is on — again</h2><p><aside id="cQopMo" class="sidebar float-right"><h3 id="cp5WwA">Key developments in MSCS’ superintendent search</h3><p id="nmmRV6">Read more of Chalkbeat Tennessee’s coverage of the district’s search for a successor to Joris Ray:</p><ul><li id="xhlCji"><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/14/23683566/memphis-shelby-county-schools-superintendent-search-hazard-young-job-requirements">MSCS superintendent search firm isn’t enforcing board’s policy on minimum job requirements</a></li><li id="w73eyp"><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/15/23682579/shelby-county-schools-memphis-superintendent-finalists-toni-williams-cassellius-jenkins">Memphis superintendent search in limbo as board balks at slate of finalists</a></li><li id="xLTK0n"><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/24/23695335/memphis-shelby-county-schools-superintendent-applicants-search-hazard-young">Here’s who applied last spring to be MSCS superintendent</a> </li><li id="3jP7nm"><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/17/23727574/memphis-shelby-county-schools-board-superintendent-search-dysfunction-turnover-urban-districts">Memphis school board dysfunction risks repelling top superintendent prospects</a></li><li id="lKktkU"><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/14/23760367/memphis-shelby-county-schools-superintendent-search-expands-sheleah-harris-quit">MSCS board relaxes job requirements for superintendent post; vice chair quits</a></li><li id="fAR5dX"><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/27/23776318/memphis-shelby-county-schools-superintendent-search-toni-williams-contract-extension">Williams will stay on as MSCS interim superintendent, but won’t seek permanent role</a></li></ul></aside></p><p>MSCS is still <a href="https://hyasearch.com/job/superintendent-memphis-tn/">seeking applicants for its superintendent</a> job, nearly a year after <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/23/23318062/memphis-shelby-county-schools-joris-ray-superintendent-investigation">Joris Ray resigned amid a scandal</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>The first attempt <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/15/23682579/shelby-county-schools-memphis-superintendent-finalists-toni-williams-cassellius-jenkins">to find a leader unraveled</a>, exposing <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/17/23727574/memphis-shelby-county-schools-board-superintendent-search-dysfunction-turnover-urban-districts">disagreements on the board</a>, fueling public doubts about whether the body could execute a search successfully, and forcing a hard reset.</p><p>The board remains committed to the national search it promised Memphians last year. Interim Superintendent Toni Williams, who had once been a finalist for the permanent job, won’t be a candidate. She agreed to drop out of the search under the terms of a new contract she signed to continue as interim leader through another school year.&nbsp;</p><p>So far, Take 2 of the search has been consistent with the parameters and <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/28/23777880/memphis-shelby-county-schools-superintendent-search-restart-select-2024">the that timeline board members set out in their discussions</a>: The new job posting, which went up at the start of August, reflects the leadership qualities board members collectively decided on, and all applicants will be evaluated against <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/14/23683566/memphis-shelby-county-schools-superintendent-search-hazard-young-job-requirements">the board’s policy on minimum qualifications</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>If the second attempt goes according to plan, applications will close by November, and a new superintendent will be selected by February, with a start date of July 1, 2024. By that schedule, the new superintendent would have a chance to ease into the leadership role during a transition period with Williams, who by that point will have led the district for close to two years.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><h2>School building projects will keep students moving</h2><p>District officials will introduce a new facilities plan this school year that will propose ways to address a backlog of costly maintenance issues. A mix of construction projects, closures, and consolidations will likely affect thousands of students, requiring that some move out of their school buildings and into others.&nbsp;</p><p>MSCS is working with <a href="https://www.psrmemphis.org/ambitious-new-initiative-strives-to-dismantle-the-poverty-trap-in-memphis/">More for Memphis, a consortium spearheaded by nonprofit Seeding Success</a>, to develop the plans and establish funding sources.&nbsp;</p><p>The plan will describe 110 school investments over the next decade, and officials say they are seeking millions of dollars in private funds for the first five years of facility upgrades and academic improvements. In addition to schools, the district may also consolidate administrative offices, reviving efforts started years ago <a href="https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/education/2018/07/31/shelby-county-schools-votes-purchase-bayer-building/853126002/">with the purchase of the old Bayer Building</a>.</p><p>Some school communities are already preparing for changes, separate from the new districtwide plan. Under agreements <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/15/23512191/germantown-memphis-shelby-county-schools-municipal-district-three-gs-settlement">between MSCS and neighboring districts</a> <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/20/23517242/memphis-shelby-county-schools-lucy-elementary-millington-municipal-germantown-legislation">to comply with a new state law</a>, Germantown High School is due to be <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/2/28/23619922/memphis-shelby-county-schools-germantown-michelle-mckissack-stephanie-love-3gs-cordova">replaced by a new building in Cordova</a>, mostly paid for through local tax increases. Germantown Elementary and Middle schools will also close in coming years, as will Lucy Elementary School in Millington.&nbsp;</p><p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/1/24/23570088/memphis-shelby-county-schools-cummings-k-8-optional-larose-elementary-deferred-maintenance">LaRose Elementary will continue to accommodate students from Cummings K-8</a>, where falling ceiling tiles forced the building to close for repairs just weeks into the 2022-23 school year.</p><p>And in Frayser, students at Trezevant High and at MLK College Prep High, which is part of the state’s Achievement School District for low-performing schools, <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/13/23682582/memphis-shelby-county-schools-commission-capital-funding-frayser-trezevant-mlk-construction">can expect a new high school building in the coming years</a>. <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/31/23665497/memphis-shelby-hanley-school-asd-tennessee-turnaround">Hanley, a K-8 school that was also in the ASD</a>, is returning to MSCS.&nbsp;</p><p>The district’s broader plan is likely to address other Memphis schools that are currently in the ASD or expected to exit in coming years.&nbsp;</p><h2>Academic needs will get a closer look  </h2><p>MSCS will remain focused on improving academic performance for individual students, but changes are also happening at the school and district levels to improve accountability for academics.</p><p>While MSCS students are <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/18/23799417/memphis-shelby-county-schools-tcap-tennessee-test-scores-2023-pandemic">making progress in their recovery from learning losses</a> during the pandemic, math scores still lag, <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/23/23417316/naep-tennessee-2022-pandemic-test-scores-nations-report-card">especially for middle schoolers</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>And in reading, scores on state standardized tests have rebounded, but proficiency rates for the district have historically been among the lowest in the state. The reading test scores are particularly consequential for third graders, <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/4/23747082/memphis-shelby-county-schools-third-grade-retention-tcap-parents-students-walked-out">who face the risk of being held back</a> if they don’t successfully complete certain intervention programs.</p><p><aside id="Km8wY9" class="sidebar"><h3 id="9O0Fjf">Sign up for monthly text updates on the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board</h3><p id="0AmfCN">Chalkbeat wants to make it easier for busy Memphians to stay informed of important school board happenings every month. To sign up to receive monthly text message updates on MSCS board meetings, <strong>text SCHOOL to 901-599-2745</strong> or type your phone number into the box below.</p><div id="VWC5vk" class="html"><style>.subtext-iframe{max-width:540px;}iframe#subtext_form{width:1px;min-width:100%;min-height:256px;}</style><div class="subtext-iframe"><iframe id="subtext_form" src="https://joinsubtext.com/chalkbeattenn?form=true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><script>fetch("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/alpha-group/iframe-resizer/master/js/iframeResizer.min.js").then(function(r){return r.text();}).then(function(t){return new Function(t)();}).then(function(){iFrameResize({heightCalculationMethod:"lowestElement"},"#subtext_form");});</script></div></aside></p><p>Interim Superintendent Williams <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tn/scsk12/Board.nsf/files/CT82ZS04A629/$file/Academic%20Plan%20resolution%20.pdf">has supported a review of district academic departments </a>and initiatives with a focus on literacy. The review would look at where the district is spending funds for academic programming and assess how effective those programs have been. That assessment would inform the development of an academic plan that board members would monitor each month for progress.&nbsp;</p><p>At the school level, the district has expanded its own turnaround program, <a href="https://izonememphis.org/">called the Innovation Zone, or iZone</a>, to include several more schools, including four schools that have returned from the ASD. Schools in the iZone have a longer school day to provide more instruction for students and help the schools perform better overall.&nbsp;</p><p>The iZone expansion comes as new accountability measures take effect in Tennessee. The Tennessee Department of Education is <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/24/23321095/tennessee-school-letter-grades-delayed-again">expected to begin assigning letter grades to public schools this fall, after years of delays</a>.&nbsp;</p><h2>District will have to adapt to end of some federal funding</h2><p>MSCS bolstered its budget over the last several years with some $775 million in one-time federal funds to help schools deal with the pandemic and support their recovery efforts. The dollars come from the <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/19/23517691/schools-esser-covid-spending-stimulus-money-federal">Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund</a> and are commonly referred to as ESSER funds.</p><p>Districts have until September 2024 to spend their funds, so officials have to wrap up the spending this school year.&nbsp;</p><p>MSCS has already budgeted funds for academic recovery programs, salaries for educational assistants in early grades, and <a href="https://www.psrmemphis.org/rush-to-spend-covid-relief-dollars-brought-memphis-schools-fewer-bidders-higher-costs/">improvements to schools’ heating and air systems</a>. Early rounds of funding were used to <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2020/5/11/21255444/memphis-district-shelby-county-schools-to-use-federal-cares-dollars-for-laptops-for-technology-plan">buy computers and tablets so students could learn from home online</a>. (Actual spending in the district <a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/a-season-of-scandal-leaves-memphis-shelby-parents-in-the-dark-on-covid-spending/">has been difficult</a> for the public to track.)</p><p>As the federal funds run out, Memphis and other districts across the country will have to decide which programs they can sustain with other funding sources, and which ones they will cut.</p><p>But the adjustment will be less harsh for Tennessee school districts, thanks to the state’s new school funding formula, which came alongside a $1 billion increase in education spending. <a href="https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/education/2022/05/03/tennessee-new-education-funding-formula-means-schools-shelby-county/7155130001/">Memphis was projected to receive about $114 million more</a> in recurring funds through the new formula, which takes effect this school year.&nbsp;</p><h2>City’s crises challenge student health, academic success</h2><p>MSCS has spent more on <a href="https://www.scsk12.org/sel/about?PID=2083">social emotional learning and support</a> for students, including new wellness centers as some schools. Mental health employees will get the salary schedule they sought last school year.</p><p>Factors outside of the district, though, continue to create obstacles. Youth homelessness in MSCS, for instance, <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/11/15/23461002/memphis-shelby-county-schools-homeless-students-families-affordable-housing-insecurity-covid">has climbed to its highest measured count in four years</a>, to 2,880 students at the end of the last school year.&nbsp;</p><p>Support services for Memphis students and families outside of the classroom have grown in importance since the start of the pandemic.</p><p>How Memphis and Shelby County tackle persistent social issues such as violence, policing, justice, and poverty will be a critical factor for student wellness and academic success in the district. Candidates in October’s crowded mayoral election have offered many ideas, including some that mirror existing MSCS programs.</p><p><em>Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Laura at </em><a href="mailto:LTestino@chalkbeat.org"><em>LTestino@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/8/6/23820765/memphis-shelby-county-schools-first-day-2023-2024-superintendent-facilities-esser/Laura Testino2023-08-03T21:55:39+00:002023-08-03T21:55:39+00:00<p>Eight years ago, Chicago Public Schools launched a program that gave certain principals more control, such as more flexibility over budgets and being freed of extra oversight from district leaders. It was an effort to reward effective veteran school leaders with “more leadership and professional development opportunities.”&nbsp;</p><p>Now, <a href="https://www.edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai23-808.pdf">a new study</a> by a Northwestern University professor shows that the initiative&nbsp;— known as the <a href="https://www.cps.edu/schools/networks/network-isp/">Independent School Principals program, or ISP</a> — resulted in better test scores and school climates and could be a cost-effective way to improve schools.</p><p>The analysis looked at 44 elementary schools that joined ISP between 2016 and 2018. Those schools saw pass rates for state reading and math tests grow, on average, by about 4 percentage points more than similar schools that weren’t part of ISP, according to the study. (Comparison schools were chosen based on things like demographics and test scores.)</p><p>The findings suggest that schools can benefit from more empowered principals, who are “closer to the ground” and may have a better sense than district leaders of what their students need, said C. Kirabo Jackson, an education and social policy professor at Northwestern who conducted the study.&nbsp;</p><p>But there are some caveats, Jackson said. The ISP schools with the best test score results were also run by principals who are considered “highly effective,” as determined by teacher ratings and other evaluations. Less effective principals saw test scores grow at a slower rate. Other studies have found mixed results when giving schools more autonomy, Jackson noted in his study.&nbsp;</p><p>The benefits of such a policy depend on “the capacity of the leaders to manage on their own,” said Jackson.</p><p>Test scores don’t show the full picture of how well students are doing, Jackson said, and his study found mixed results in other areas. For example, ISP schools on average had better ratings for school climate. But he found no evidence that these schools saw better student or teacher attendance.&nbsp;</p><p>The ISP initiative was launched under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel as part of an effort to pair principals with “more leadership and professional development opportunities,” according to the <a href="https://www.cps.edu/press-releases/chicago-public-schools-announces-2019-independent-school-principals/">district.</a>&nbsp;</p><p>Currently, district leaders identify veteran principals to apply for the program and then evaluate them based on several criteria, including their school’s test scores, their “five essentials” survey data and a series of interviews, according to the district.&nbsp;</p><p>A spokesperson did not respond in time for publication on whether there were minimum test scores that schools had to meet in order to be eligible.&nbsp;</p><p>Jackson noted that nearly all of the elementary schools he evaluated were highly rated by the state. In all, 86% of the city’s current 63 ISP schools —&nbsp;which also include middle and high schools and one early childhood education center — were rated either commendable or exemplary by the state, according to the most recently available Illinois Report Card information.</p><p>In addition to less oversight and more budget flexibility, ISP school leaders also have more power over professional learning for their staff and more flexibility over principal evaluations. In exchange, principals must meet several requirements, including maintaining or improving school performance, remaining compliant with district wide policies, and remaining as the school’s principal for at least two years.</p><p>Having more power over professional learning was among the biggest boons for Patricia Brekke, principal of Back of the Yards High School, who joined the ISP program in 2016. Her school, like others, used to spend time addressing student needs in ways that district leaders recommended.&nbsp;</p><p>While she considered those good strategies, her staff didn’t have extra time to focus on other issues they believed to be important, such as drilling down on students’ analytical and essay writing skills.&nbsp;</p><p>For the past seven years, she and other teachers have created their own professional development sessions to, in part, improve kids’ analytical skills. Her team draws on good examples from their own classrooms, including taking videos during the school day, so that teachers can see how their own colleagues are approaching instruction, Brekke said.</p><p>“I’ve got a lot of brilliant teachers, and their ideas really pushed me, I think, to be a better principal, you know?” Brekke said. “And it was really important for me to have them around the table and identify our problems of practice.”</p><p>Jackson only studied elementary schools, so he doesn’t know the program’s impact on high schools.&nbsp;</p><p>SAT scores at Brekke’s school were within five percentage points of the district’s. But Brekke said she’s noticed her students demonstrating “elevated” writing skills that go beyond a classic five-paragraph essay response.</p><p>“They’re really starting to think more deeply about text,” Brekke said.&nbsp;</p><p>Jackson found another bonus of the program: Principals “tend to remain in their schools” even after the two-year requirement. That is by design, said Jerry Travlos, a former ISP principal who now works as a district leader.&nbsp;</p><p>Travlos conducted a study, which Jackson cites, and found that ISP principals largely preferred the autonomy they got under the program. Extending more power to veteran principals is also a “retention strategy,” he said, at a time when school leaders <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/2/9/23593377/chicago-public-schools-principals-leaving-pandemic-university-of-chicago">are heading for the door.</a>&nbsp;</p><p>Brekke, who has been an educator for 32 years, said she sometimes misses the camaraderie that comes along with a traditional network like most of Chicago’s public schools. But she loves being able to “geek out” and customize instruction for her students.&nbsp;</p><p>“Having those kinds of conversations are really just so refreshing and encouraging and motivating,” Brekke said. She paused and added, “Maybe it’s contributed to why I’m still here.”&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/authors/reema-amin"><em>Reema Amin</em></a><em>&nbsp;is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/8/3/23819384/chicago-public-schools-isp-principals-power-test-scores-study-professional-learning/Reema Amin2023-08-03T11:30:08+00:002023-08-03T11:30:08+00:00<p>In Newark’s North Ward, students in Ms. Murphy’s second grade class at Park Elementary School sat quietly on a colorful rug at the front of the classroom in mid-July, listening to their teacher read a book.</p><p>The summer school class was practicing reading comprehension skills by answering questions about the story and summarizing the main ideas.&nbsp;</p><p>“Look at the sun, the rain,” said Kathleen Murphy as she showed students the drawings in the book. “Where is our setting?”</p><p>Two students quickly raised their hands.&nbsp;</p><p>“Outside by a tree!” one student.&nbsp;</p><p>“What kind of tree?” Murphy asked the class.&nbsp;</p><p>“Oak!” several students shout out, eager to answer.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Murphy’s class is part of Newark Public Schools’ five-week summer school program, one of many efforts across city schools to help students get back on grade level after spring 2022 state test scores showed dismal drops in English language arts and math.&nbsp;</p><p>As Newark students get ready to return to class in five weeks, officials are hoping that such initiatives aimed at helping those who have fallen behind will pay off.</p><p>Some of those interventions began last spring with high-dosage tutoring during the day at KIPP New Jersey schools. Others – such as Murphy’s class – took place during summer school programs.</p><p>About 10,000 public school students were required to attend summer school this year – double the number from last year – with more scattered throughout city charter schools.&nbsp;</p><p>In Newark Public Schools, students are required to attend summer school based on attendance, grades, and state test scores. Those who did not attend within the first three days were at risk of losing their seats and high schoolers enrolled in the summer accelerated program needed to attend every day to keep their spots, according to the district.</p><p>“The effort to close the achievement gap and accelerate learning is a collective effort,” said Newark Public Schools Assistant Superintendent José Fuentes. “And hopefully we’ll see robust gains from this summer.”</p><p>New Jersey students took the state’s standardized test last spring – the first time since 2019 – providing a glimpse into students’ slow recovery after COVID-19 disruptions. The scores&nbsp; pointed to the severity of the pandemic’s toll on student learning<strong> </strong>and the efforts Newark leaders must take to recover from it.&nbsp;</p><p>In spring 2022, only 49% of New Jersey students passed the state’s English language arts test, 27% of Newark public school students, and 47% of the city’s charter school students <a href="https://newark.chalkbeat.org/2022/9/30/23381091/newark-nj-njsla-english-language-arts-higher-lower-math-state-test-scores">reached proficiency levels</a> in the same subject.</p><p>Newark’s younger students suffered the biggest declines from pre-pandemic levels, with only 19% of Newark Public School third graders and 40% of the city’s charter school third graders reaching proficiency levels on the state’s English language arts test. Third grade is widely viewed as a critical age for reading and a measure of a student’s future academic success. The scores also showed that Newark’s struggles with achieving math proficiency have only grown since the pandemic.&nbsp;</p><p>In July, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka declared an “urgent” literacy crisis throughout the city and <a href="https://newark.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/18/23799471/newark-nj-mayor-ras-baraka-10-point-youth-literacy-action-plan-reading">launched a 10-point Youth Literacy Action plan</a> that calls on local schools, parents, community partners, and programs to get young children reading and writing.</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/4Yllk_rsVhj0wFuzIJoArHZHoo0=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/QXIMCK7PEJADJJNSY3MLDRYTWU.jpg" alt="Rising second grade students work on math problems in Kelly Stern’s class on Thursday, July 20, 2023, at Achieve Community Charter School in Newark, New Jersey." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Rising second grade students work on math problems in Kelly Stern’s class on Thursday, July 20, 2023, at Achieve Community Charter School in Newark, New Jersey.</figcaption></figure><p>The sobering test scores are part of the crisis that led city educators to develop strategies to refine students’ skills in reading, writing, and math this summer. In the classroom, teachers are working with students who need help practicing handwriting and strengthening reading comprehension skills, while others implement group work that challenges students to discuss different ways to solve math problems.</p><p>For public school leaders, home to roughly 38,000 students, federal COVID relief dollars have been the district’s “saving grace” in <a href="https://newark.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/1/23745676/newark-nj-students-need-summer-school-2023-doubles-learning-loss">expanding summer programs</a> to 14 schools this year, said Superintendent Roger León during a press conference in June.&nbsp;</p><p>Part of the district’s strategy is ensuring those dollars “last a long time” so they continue to offer tutoring and other recovery support during the school year, León added.</p><h2>‘Learning happens when students are having fun’</h2><p>Park Elementary’s summer school principal, Ladylaura Bueno, is responsible for making sure her 127 students required to attend summer classes are there.&nbsp;</p><p>The program “moves very quickly,” Bueno said, and missing one week of summer school “is like missing one marking period.”&nbsp;</p><p>The goal is for the summer school experience to mirror that of the academic year, Fuentes added. On day one, students are tested in either reading or math and then tested again at the end “to see the efficacy of the program,” Bueno said. Instruction is tailored to each student’s need, making participation a key component of the program.&nbsp;</p><p>School leaders like Bueno, normally a vice principal at Salomé Ureña Elementary school, say summer school planning takes months, and ensuring that parents understand the importance of it is part of the work to help students succeed.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’re working to engage parents and make sure they understand that their kids aren’t done just because it’s summer,”&nbsp; Fuentes said. “If you miss school, we make calls.”&nbsp;</p><p>Developed by Newark Board of Education curriculum experts, the district’s Summer Plus program combines academic and enrichment activities into a full-day summer program for students who will be entering grades one through eight. In the morning, students work on improving math and literacy skills, and in the afternoon, students are free to join extracurricular activities led by partnering organizations in Newark.&nbsp;</p><p>“The teacher is the facilitator here and that places the onus on students to solve the problem and find different ways to reach a solution,” Fuentes said.&nbsp;</p><p>In one fifth grade class at Park, for example, 12 students who need extra support in math focus on collaborative work and finding ways to solve problems on their own. Then they discuss different solutions with their peers. Students are also pulled from class at different times of the day and placed in smaller groups with teachers who provide more targeted support in reading and math.&nbsp;</p><p>During the regular academic year, León said they plan to implement a similar structure and provide tutoring for students throughout the school day – a requirement under Baraka’s 10-Point Action Plan.</p><p>Ultimately, “learning happens when students are having fun and are engaging in hands-on activity,” Fuentes said.</p><h2>Newark charter looks for ways to refine student learning</h2><p>Overall, Newark’s trends showed that students performed lower in math state tests than in English language arts. That’s one reason Achieve Community Charter School is focusing on improving student performance in math as part of its summer program.</p><p>Achieve students entering grades one through seven are tested during the first week of school to assess their needs, said Tina Leake, Achieve’s summer school site director. Based on that data, students are placed in tutoring groups that target specific skills in math and literacy.&nbsp;</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/XauGJ5TBvYxRCW1buzpjaEM9xQY=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/556F42USRRBYBK3VLJBPDE4VIQ.jpg" alt="Rising fifth grade students work in small groups with an “All Star” tutor in Vanessa Simon’s class on Thursday, July 20, 2023, at Achieve Community Charter School in Newark, New Jersey." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Rising fifth grade students work in small groups with an “All Star” tutor in Vanessa Simon’s class on Thursday, July 20, 2023, at Achieve Community Charter School in Newark, New Jersey.</figcaption></figure><p>Summer tutoring can include group instruction or one-on-one learning during the school day, in addition to instruction in the classroom in the morning, said summer school principal Patrice Norwood. School leaders and teachers then evaluate their tutoring strategy on a daily basis as students move through the program.&nbsp;</p><p>“They’re not going to stay in the same group for the whole program, or the whole week or even daily,” Norwood added. “It might change based on what we’re seeing.”&nbsp;</p><p>Keeping Achieve’s 184 summer school students engaged is also part of the work to support student learning, Norwood said.&nbsp;</p><p>Through a partnership with After School All Stars, a nonprofit organization working with low-income youth, students are spread throughout 10 classrooms with one instructor and an “All Star” tutor who helps out during the small group hour built into the day. In their classrooms, students rotate among three different groups: instruction with a teacher, iReady lessons in math or reading on their Chromebooks, and group work specific to students’ needs.&nbsp;</p><p>Students may also need extra support in skills not usually worked on during the school day such as handwriting or adding and subtracting. Small groups and tutoring are a way to build those skills, Norwood said.&nbsp;</p><p>School leaders also keep a close eye on students’ emotional and mental health and work with community partners to support children and their families. Recently, for example, one of Achieve’s students was dealing with the loss of a family member and school leaders offered to provide therapy and support services for the family.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’re here to help both students and their families,” Norwood said.&nbsp;</p><p>Their approach to supporting students and evaluating and reassessing their program is part of “the love students get,” she added.&nbsp;</p><h2>KIPP schools maximize impact of tutoring</h2><p>For KIPP New Jersey Schools, which serves students in Newark and Camden, the work to boost student performance began this spring with two new partnerships that helped provide high-dosage tutoring in math and reading. That goes along with recent research that shows intensive tutoring can be effective in helping students improve in problem areas.</p><p>Two of the charter school network’s elementary schools partnered with the New Jersey Tutoring Corps, a statewide nonprofit created to address academic recovery needs post pandemic, to provide in-person tutoring to 100 students. The preliminary data for elementary student outcomes is “promising” and reflects on the efforts of the corps to provide targeted tutoring, said Joe Hejlek, director of wraparound services at KIPP New Jersey.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Overall, the state’s Tutoring Corps served 500 students across New Jersey schools during the 2022-23 pilot. The percentage performing at grade level in math improved from 16% to 40%, and from 23% to 40% in literacy across all grade levels, the Tutoring Corps reported.&nbsp;</p><p>But Hejlek says the program’s success in KIPP New Jersey schools is in part linked to student attendance.&nbsp;</p><p>“There’s a very direct correlation between the number of sessions students participate in and the amount of growth that they make,” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>At the middle school level, three KIPP New Jersey schools partnered with Tutored by Teachers, an organization that provides personalized virtual tutoring for students. Nikeya Stuart is a school leader at TEAM Academy working with students from fifth through eighth grade. At TEAM, 20 students worked with Tutored by Teachers instructors this spring and received virtual tutoring in math twice a week during the school day.&nbsp;</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/2rkmCVVwJ4rFqgWy0G414ZLl2xw=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/OYEFLOV2TZADJKIRONOVBUGENA.jpg" alt="Achieve Community Charter School student’s work on adding and subtracting during the school’s 2023 summer program." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Achieve Community Charter School student’s work on adding and subtracting during the school’s 2023 summer program.</figcaption></figure><p>Students were chosen to participate in the program if they were within 10 points of passing the state’s math test and had 95% daily attendance or higher during the academic year, Stuart said. The goal was to choose students who would commit to tutoring “so the program could really yield the results that we were hoping that it would,” Stuart added.&nbsp;</p><p>She found sixth and seventh graders were more engaged than students in fifth and eighth grade but noted the importance of finding “a program that works for each student.”&nbsp;</p><p>Not all students will benefit from online learning after the pandemic and “if a student did not like learning behind the computer, they may not be the ideal student” for virtual tutoring, Stuart said.</p><p>By learning about the impact the tutoring efforts had on students, the charter network is looking to scale up its tutoring program by expanding it to five more schools this year. But it remains unclear whether there will be funding to continue such high-dosage tutoring and other avenues for student academic recovery.</p><p>”It’s just a question of making sure we have enough tutors to meet demand,” Hejlek said, “and then making sure we’re being thoughtful about how we select the students and how we set our schools up to maximize the impact of the tutoring.”&nbsp;</p><p><em>Jessie Gómez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at </em><a href="mailto:jgomez@chalkbeat.org"><em>jgomez@chalkbeat.org</em></a>.</p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/newark/2023/8/3/23817714/newark-nj-summer-school-tutoring-academic-recovery-reading-literacy-math/Jessie Gómez2023-07-31T23:43:11+00:002023-07-31T23:43:11+00:00<p>More than 8,000 Chicago Public Schools students will not have bus service on the first day of class on Aug. 21, a problem the district blames on an ongoing bus driver shortage.&nbsp;</p><p>With only half of the 1,300 drivers needed to transport students who require bus service, Chicago said it will instead prioritize transportation for students with disabilities and those experiencing homelessness. Both groups are legally required to receive transportation to school.&nbsp;</p><p>For some students with disabilities, bus service is a requirement on their Individualized Education Programs. More than 7,100 such students have signed up for bus service so far, officials said. (Siblings of students with disabilities can still receive bus service if they attend the same school.)&nbsp;</p><p>This is the <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2021/10/12/22716984/illinois-bus-driver-shortage-reopening-diverseleaners-chicago-public-schools">third year in a row</a> in which the return to class has been marred by transportation woes that have left thousands of students without transportation or with long commutes. The district, which contracts with outside companies to provide transportation, has attributed bus service snarls in previous years to nationwide driver shortages.</p><p>In an effort to help fix ongoing transportation problems, the district in March <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/22/23652555/chicago-public-schools-bus-routes-transportation-4-million-contract-consultant">approved a $4 million contract</a> with Education Logistics Inc., known as EduLog, to schedule bus routes, determine start times for summer school and assign bus vendors during the school year. The contract is set to run through June 30, 2026.&nbsp;</p><p>This year, in the face of continued bus service troubles, the district will instead offer Ventra cards to general education students and one companion, such as a parent, “for as long as they are without school bus transportation,” according to a news release from Chicago. These families may have the option to get bus service “at some point” in the school year but the timing for that is not yet clear, said Charles Mayfield, chief operating officer for Chicago Public Schools.&nbsp;</p><p>Last year, Chicago provided bus service to 17,275 children, or about 5% of students.&nbsp;</p><p>“There’s been a nationwide shortage, and I think that is not an easy thing for any K-12 [district] right now,” Mayfield said Monday in an interview with Chalkbeat. “Even if you Google search bus driver shortage, you get a number of school districts that have the same issue that we’re having today and they are making adjustments similar to where we are, to try to provide alternatives.”</p><p>As of Friday, the district said it could guarantee bus service on the first day of school for students with disabilities and those experiencing homelessness, after Chicago twice extended a sign-up deadline this summer, Mayfield said. But it can’t guarantee immediate service for families who sign up now. The district is required to link those families to bus service within two weeks of their request for transportation.</p><p>As an alternative, CPS is offering families of students with disabilities and those in temporary housing up to $500 in monthly stipends to cover transportation costs. So far, 3,000 students have chosen this option, officials said.</p><p>The continuing transportation issues have Chicago parent Laurie Viets bracing for yet another chaotic start to the school year. Two of her three children have district-provided bus service written into their Individualized Education Programs.&nbsp;</p><p>This year, she said the district has been more proactive since parents have raised concerns about bus services issues over the past few years. Over the summer,&nbsp;Viets received a couple of phone calls from the district asking if she would like to take the $500 stipend, but she declined. She said she prefers that the district provide bus service for her children.&nbsp;</p><p>Viets only learned the district had yet to figure out routes for students when she talked to a district representative last week.&nbsp;</p><p>“I have no hopes at all that transportation will show up,” said Viets. “I’ve got three kids, three separate schools in three different parts of the city. We’re going to be scrambling to get the two that need transportation to school because I guarantee we will not have transport on that first day.”</p><p>It is a familiar scenario for Viets – last year, she said she couldn’t get transportation for one of her children for about six weeks – and for thousands of other CPS families.&nbsp;</p><p>In the 2021-22 school year, when students returned to classrooms after COVID shuttered buildings, the district did not have bus services for 2,100 students on the first day of classes. At the time, the district <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2021/8/30/22649185/school-bus-driver-shortage-in-chicago-prompts-1000-payments-to-families-and-calls-to-uber-lyft">provided families with $1,000 </a>to help with transportation and even reached out to ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft for support.&nbsp;</p><p>At the start of the next school year, the district was able to route 15,000 Chicago Public Schools students to classes but hundreds of students with disabilities dealt with long commute times. At the time, the district reported <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/24/23320764/chicago-public-schools-transportation-problems-bus-driver-pedro-martinez">that 365 students with disabilities had to deal with commute times of 90 minutes or longer and could not arrange transportation for 1,200 students.</a></p><p><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/authors/reema-amin"><em>Reema Amin</em></a><em>&nbsp;is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.</em></p><p><em>Samantha Smylie is the state education reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago, covering school districts across the state, legislation, special education, and the state board of education. Contact Samantha at ssmylie@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/7/31/23814936/chicago-public-schools-no-bus-service-driver-shortage/Reema Amin, Samantha Smylie2023-07-27T17:34:00+00:002023-07-27T17:34:00+00:00<p>As Illinois’ almost 2 million students head back to school, Chalkbeat Chicago is looking for <a href="https://forms.gle/yPwyvACynVvd52CY7">input </a>from parents, students, and educators on topics to write about this school year.&nbsp;</p><p>Three years ago, school looked very different as students weren’t able to sit in classrooms, enjoy lunch, or in some cases participate in coming-of-age activities such as homecoming, <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/11/23065922/chicago-public-schools-pandemic-prom-donations">prom</a>, or <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/6/21/23173137/chicago-valedictorians-coronavirus-pandemic-covid-graduation-high-school">graduation </a>because the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered school buildings. In the years since, schools have undergone some significant changes.</p><p>To help students return safely to classrooms and recover academically from the pandemic, the federal government gave Illinois a total of almost<a href="https://www.isbe.net/Documents/ESSER-Fact-Sheet.pdf"> $8 billion as part of a COVID relief </a>package. Local school districts were allowed to use the funding for face masks, <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/25/23420920/illinois-high-impact-tutoring-learning-federal-funding-recovery-covid">after-school tutoring programs</a>, <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/9/23500744/chicago-public-schools-social-worker-student-mental-health-covid-trauma-support-services">mental health programs</a>, <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/2/11/22927568/chicago-public-schools-federal-covid-relief-american-rescue-plan-spending">existing staff salaries,</a> and <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/13/23506463/chicago-public-schools-technology-spending-tracking-computers-covid-relief">technology</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Throughout the last school year, Chalkbeat Chicago covered a range of topics, including student mental health, academic recovery, how reading is taught, Chicago’s looming shift to an elected school board, and how federal COVID recovery money is being spent.</p><p><aside id="Vvvbhw" class="sidebar float-right"><p id="fkVwIt">Who we are:</p><p id="SwU99o">Chalkbeat Chicago reports on Illinois education with a focus on Chicago Public Schools. Since 2018, We have covered issues related to COVID-19 funding, police in schools, gun violence, early childhood education, special education, and much more. </p><p id="FFoVYj">Have a tip or story idea for us to follow? Email <a href="mailto:chi.tips@chalkbeat.org">chicago.tips@chalkbeat.org</a> or reach out to Bureau Chief Becky Vevea and reporters Mila Koumpilova, Reema Amin, and Samantha Smylie. </p><p id="SjvQoi">Read our stories here: <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/">chicago.chalkbeat.org</a></p></aside></p><p>This year, Chalkbeat Chicago is keeping an eye on student learning, the deadline to use federal COVID money, and new Chicago leadership with a new mayor and school board. The stakes are high as federal COVID relief money is set to expire in 2024, which could mean the end of vital programs for students still recovering from the pandemic’s disruption.&nbsp;</p><p>The Illinois State Board of Education<a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/27/23425426/illinois-school-report-card-2022-reading-math-covid"> reported last fall</a> that students from third to eighth grade who took the Illinois Assessment of Readiness lagged in reading and in math when compared to scores from 2019.&nbsp;</p><p>We want to hear from you before the school year takes off. What topics do you want to learn more about? What questions do you have about your local school?&nbsp;</p><p>Fill out the survey below to let us know what you think we should report on this year.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Samantha Smylie is the state education reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago, covering school districts across the state, legislation, special education, and the state board of education. Contact Samantha at ssmylie@chalkbeat.org.</em></p><p><div id="Vy84TC" class="html"><iframe src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc-BjOVrl_HvMPUZnvYBJAeIfcn07m6PHxFOOYinz9cTmYKag/viewform?embedded=true" width="100%" height="2416" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0">Loading…</iframe></div></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/7/27/23810111/illinois-chicago-schools-first-day-start/Samantha Smylie2023-07-26T21:34:08+00:002023-07-26T21:34:08+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with NYC’s public schools.</em></p><p>New York City’s fifth and eighth graders will have to take this spring’s state tests — for English, math, and science — on computers, giving schools a nine-month runway to prepare 140,000 students to make the switch from pen and paper.</p><p>A substantial amount of work may be ahead to ensure the transition goes smoothly. Of the third to eighth grade students, only 16,300 took computer-based tests last year, according to state data obtained by Chalkbeat. Though a big jump from the year before, when about 1,070 kids took the tests via computer, it’s still a fraction of the number of kids expected to take the tests on computers this school year.</p><p>In the 2024-2025 school year, all fourth and sixth graders will be required to take the tests on computers, and by spring 2026, third and seventh graders will join the mix, completing the shift to computer-based testing for all students. (There will be accommodations for students with disabilities who need to use paper, officials said.)</p><p>The New York State Education Department <a href="https://www.silive.com/education/2022/12/new-york-state-outlines-priorities-for-2023-2024-academic-year-here-are-6-key-areas-of-support.html">last year proposed spending $21 million to support the transition to computer-based testing</a> for grades 3-8 for English and math and science for fifth and eighth graders, but the state’s final budget did not include the funding. <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/tab2_22.asp">Forty-eight states</a>, including New York, have already started using computer assessments.</p><p>“It’s time we join the 21st century, and computer-based testing is how we do it,” Zachary Warner, assistant commissioner to the Office of State Assessment, said.</p><p>But some New York City teachers don’t think their schools or students are ready for the transition.&nbsp;</p><p>Teachers fear that without resources, such as updates to their building infrastructure, computer labs, and computer lab teachers, they won’t have the bandwidth in their academic day to support the needs their students will have as a result of the switch. Teachers also fear that students won’t perform as well on computers.&nbsp;</p><p>Officials from New York City’s education department declined to comment on the transition.</p><h2>Computer-based testing will be more efficient, officials say</h2><p>Warner said computer-based testing will be more efficient for teachers, allowing teachers to grade exams faster. Schools will also have more flexible and expanded testing schedules, which could avoid <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/4/27/23045341/ny-state-math-tests-ramadan-upsetting-fast-muslim-families">previous problems</a> with tests being scheduled during Muslim holidays. (This year, for instance, Eid al-Fitr <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-state-education-department-conflict-reading-exam-eid-20230411-ejkz5hirqjh2tgh5zblehj6d2q-story.html">conflicts with the reading test</a>.)</p><p>Eventually, computer-based testing could lead to computer-adaptive testing, which is where a test adapts to the student’s level of work and will produce harder or easier questions based on the student’s performance.&nbsp;</p><p>“With computer adaptive testing, we could meet students where they’re at, it would help those that are struggling and challenge those that are performing higher. This could make a real difference for all students,” Warner said.</p><h2>NY’s computer-based testing has seen some glitches</h2><p>The state’s move to computerized testing experienced a setback i<a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2019/4/3/21107797/computer-based-state-testing-to-resume-in-new-york-but-concerns-about-glitches-remain">n 2019 with technical glitches that ultimately led to nearly 7,000 students’ exams not being properly completed.</a> (New York City only had a limited number of schools affected at the time.)</p><p><a href="https://www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/programs/state-assessment/memo-statewide-implementation-of-computer-based-testing.pdf">The state acknowledged those problems in a 2022 memo</a>, saying that changes have been made. The state is switching to cloud-based servers using Amazon Web Services. More than 230,000 students from over 1,000 schools statewide took computer tests in 2022 with no significant technical concerns while using the new cloud-based servers, officials said.&nbsp;</p><p>Studies also have shown <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2018/3/30/21104707/the-national-test-of-students-progress-has-gone-digital-a-state-leader-is-raising-questions-about-wh">that students tend to do worse on exams taken on a computer or a tablet than on one taken with pencil and paper.</a> In <a href="https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/how-switch-paper-computer-tests-impacts-student-achievement">one study</a>, students in elementary and middle school performed worse on tests done by computer, though it varied by age and subject. Students from low-income families did worse in all subjects after transitioning to computer-based testing. But more practice with technology can lessen the impact.</p><p>Warner said the state will ensure students and teachers receive training as they prepare for the switch. “A kid will never sit down on the day of a test and [have] it be their first time in front of a computer,” he said.</p><h2>Some NYC teachers fear schools aren’t ready for transition</h2><p><a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/2/16/23603218/nyc-school-devices-tracking-inventory-ipads-laptops-tablets-remote-learning">The city bought 725,000 devices</a> during the pandemic for remote learning, and many of those devices have since been used in classrooms across the city for some local periodic assessments. But some teachers see problems ahead for widespread computer-based testing.</p><p>Martina Meijer, a fourth grade teacher in Brooklyn’s District 22, said the experience they’ve had so far with iReady assessments her school administers has been “a complete disaster.” Only 16 of her 26 students have functioning devices, even though some students received devices from the city and the school has 20 computers available to fourth graders at the school.</p><p>“It takes about seven to nine school days to get all 26 students through one assessment test,” said Meijer.</p><p>Samantha Revells, a third grade teacher at Brooklyn’s New Lots School, said it takes about 45 minutes just to get her 25 students logged into their accounts in order to begin the testing process — that’s with the assistance of a paraprofessional and student helper.&nbsp;</p><p>Both Revells and Meijer said students tend to rush through computer-based tests versus paper tests.</p><p>“We have to monitor them so closely when they do computer-based exams, because if not they’ll just click and click because they become so impatient,” said Revells.</p><p>Meijer said computer testing also doesn’t work as well for some subjects. “Having students complete math problems on a computer versus paper discourages them from doing the annotation that we’ve taught them to do when working out a problem,” she said.</p><p>Meijer said her school’s electrical wiring also isn’t equipped to handle computer-based testing.&nbsp;</p><p>She said she was told that devices such as a <a href="https://www.brown.edu/news/2022-12-23/corsi-cubes-study">Corsi–Rosenthal Box</a>, a handmade air purifier, and a miniature refrigerator required too much power to use in her classroom. However, she’s expected to charge more than 30 devices.</p><p>She spent $100 on surge-protected power cords for her classroom because she feared cheaper cords could cause a fire.</p><p>“This switch isn’t helping teachers. It’s inefficient and it’s adding more work for us,” said Meijer.</p><p><em>Correction: This story initially said the state Education Department would allocate $21 million to support the move to computer-based learning. Ultimately, that money was not included in the state’s final budget.</em></p><p><em>Eliana Perozo is a reporting intern at Chalkbeat New York. You can reach her at </em><a href="mailto:eperozo@chalkbeat.org"><em>eperozo@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2023/7/26/23809117/ny-state-tests-computer-adaptive-fifth-eighth-grade-shift/Eliana Perozo2023-07-24T10:00:00+00:002023-07-24T10:00:00+00:00<p>Three weeks into her job as Tennessee’s education chief, Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds says her charge from Gov. Bill Lee is to implement existing major policy changes — from how reading is taught to the continued rollout of private school vouchers — not to craft new initiatives.</p><p>She feels prepared for that role, having overseen state-level education policy work in Texas for nearly a decade, including six years as its No. 2 administrator. She also has years of policy and political experience at the federal level, and most recently led policy work for the advocacy group ExcelinEd, founded by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.</p><p>“Implementation is kind of my sweet spot,” Reynolds said. “When I was chief deputy commissioner in Texas, that’s what I did.”</p><p>Among her priorities in Tennessee: executing <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/2/23/23611426/tennessee-reading-retention-mississippi-miracle-bill-lee-legislature">new programs to develop stronger readers;</a> troubleshooting the switch to a <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/4/28/23046905/tisa-funding-formula-tennessee-legislature-governor-lee">new K-12 funding formula</a> as of July 1; strengthening school models to prepare students for success after high school; and operating and <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/21/23693150/tennessee-private-school-voucher-esa-expansion-hamilton-knox-legislature-bill-lee">expanding Lee’s controversial voucher program</a> that gives taxpayer money to eligible students to attend private schools.</p><p>Meanwhile, much of the work to roll out a <a href="https://www.tn.gov/governor/news/2023/5/10/gov--lee-signs-strong-school-safety-measures-into-law.html">comprehensive new school safety package,</a> approved this spring after a <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/27/23658910/the-covenant-school-school-shootings-assault-weapons-metropolitan-nashville-police-department">mass school shooting in Nashville</a>, has shifted under a new law to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.</p><p><aside id="nkyCOK" class="sidebar float-right"><h2 id="1cCXf1">FAST FACTS</h2><p id="FXGJ3m"><strong>Name:</strong> Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds</p><p id="UPbo3B"><strong>Age:</strong> 58</p><p id="2CBpBX"><strong>Title:</strong> Commissioner of Education</p><p id="yRaCK7"><strong>Annual salary:</strong> $236,000</p><p id="JKo7Mv"><strong>Hometown:</strong> Austin, Texas</p><p id="ItjzXK"><strong>Grew up: </strong>Harlingen, Texas</p><p id="kDqLoz"><strong>Fun fact: </strong>Played clarinet in her high school band and marched in the Rose Bowl parade in her sophomore year</p><p id="7vyZ2v"><strong>Higher education: </strong>Bachelor of arts, Southwestern University, a private liberal arts school in Georgetown, Texas</p><p id="SNN7kn"><strong>Last job:</strong> Vice president of policy, ExcelinEd, an education advocacy group founded by Jeb Bush</p><p id="TLoVZa"><strong>Previous bosses include: </strong>Former U.S. President George W. Bush, former and current Texas Govs. Rick Perry and Greg Abbott, former U.S. education secretaries Rod Paige and Margaret Spellings</p><p id="8UMOz8"><strong>Family:</strong> Her husband, David, works in government relations in Texas. They have three children.</p></aside></p><p>Since her official start on July 1, Reynolds’ schedule has been packed with meetings with staff, lawmakers, government officials, and education stakeholders.&nbsp;</p><p>Among the latter is JC Bowman, executive director of the Professional Educators of Tennessee, who described Reynolds as “straightforward and direct.”&nbsp;</p><p>“She made it clear that she is here to serve students and educators in Tennessee. … I think she will do well here if she will stay above the political fray,” said Bowman, who was a <a href="https://tntribune.com/advice-for-the-new-commissioner-of-education/">frequent critic of Reynolds’ predecessor, Penny Schwinn.</a></p><p>This week, the new commissioner travels to Memphis, home to the state’s largest school district, for introductions with local officials and community leaders.</p><p>Last week, in her first media interview since Lee <a href="https://www.tn.gov/education/news/2023/5/1/gov--lee-announces-key-leadership-transition-at-tn-department-of-education.html">announced her hiring</a> in May, Reynolds sat down with Chalkbeat to talk about her background, priorities, and leadership style. Since she’s on a learning curve in a new state, questions about policy specifics were off the table.</p><p>But she was open about her own K-12 experiences as a public school kid growing up in Harlingen, Texas, a heavily Hispanic community in the Rio Grande Valley near the U.S.-Mexico border.&nbsp;</p><p>She described how, as a Hispanic American and a female, she experienced discrimination. As a first-generation college graduate and the oldest of four children of working-class parents, she benefited from scholarships and financial aid. And, as a parent of three children, one of whom was diagnosed with a disability in elementary school, she tapped both public and private schools to find the best fit for her family.</p><p>Reynolds said she jumped at the chance to join the administration of Lee, a Republican businessman who pushed for sweeping changes to education in his first term and was <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/11/8/23447845/tennessee-governor-election-results-2022-bill-lee-education">easily reelected</a> last year.</p><p>“Tennessee has always been the bellwether state of doing things that challenge the adults in the system to continue to do better,” she said. “I want to be part of that story.”</p><p>Below are highlights of Chalkbeat’s interview, which has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.</p><p><strong>Getting to know you on a personal level, describe your own education experience. Did you go to public schools? Private schools? How did they shape you?</strong></p><p>My only early experience in a private school was attending a Catholic school in pre-K. From kindergarten through 12th grade, I went to public schools in Harlingen.</p><p>From an early age, my mom drilled into me that “you got to go to college.” So I was always in a competition to be at the top of my class. I was going to be an astronaut, by God!</p><blockquote><p>“I was going to be an astronaut, by God!”</p></blockquote><p>I loved math but, when I took trigonometry in high school and it wasn’t connecting, my teacher was like, “You know, you’re a girl. You really don’t need to be doing this. You probably should just drop my class.” So I did.&nbsp;</p><p>I was shy and I couldn’t wait to get out of Harlingen. I was blessed with a great school counselor. When I told her I wanted to go to college, she said, “OK, here’s what you need to do.”</p><p>I got a merit scholarship to attend Southwestern University, where people in the financial aid office became my best friends and I was able to cover tuition increases through a combination of work-study and Pell grants. By then, I wanted to become an accountant. But after taking a political science class with a truly dynamic professor, I changed my mind. I wanted to save the world.</p><p><strong>Your selection was announced by the governor’s office on the same day that Schwinn’s impending departure was announced. How did you come to this job?</strong></p><p>A lot of the work I did for the <a href="https://excelined.org/">Foundation for Excellence in Education</a> (ExcelinEd) was not only to advocate for its policy agenda but to work across the country with other advocates and supporters and philanthropy. I was on the proverbial “list” of people across the country who might be interested in being a state-level deputy or chief. And I’ve paid my dues. I had thought maybe I might lead the Texas Education Agency someday. But I wasn’t actively looking. I’d been at ExcelinEd almost seven years and loved my job.&nbsp;</p><p>This spring, the governor’s office here called and wanted to talk about Tennessee’s chief position and I said, ‘Of course I’ll talk.’ What a great opportunity to meet Gov. Lee, who had a great relationship with Gov. Bush. (During the week of April 11) I came to Nashville and met with (Chief Operating Officer) Brandon Gibson and then interviewed with the governor the next day.</p><blockquote><p>“Tennessee has always been the bellwether state of doing things that challenge the adults in the system to continue to do better.”</p></blockquote><p>When I walked into his office, everybody was so awesome. Gov. Lee looked at me and said, “Why do you want to be commissioner of education in Tennessee?” I basically said, “Who wouldn’t want to be commissioner here?” Tennessee has always been the bellwether state of doing things that challenge the adults in the system to continue to do better. It’s still strong in accountability and assessment. There’s great work passed in this administration and previous administrations. And then, just the fact that the governor really cares about education, that it’s a priority.</p><p>Tennessee is just a good place to be. I want to be part of that story and the continued success of this state with kids. At this agency, we don’t touch kids every day, but we help influence what happens in the classroom because of the supports and resources that we provide.</p><p>When I walked out of the governor’s office, I said to myself, ‘I want to work for that man and I’m going to be really disappointed if I don’t get the offer.’</p><p>About a week and a half later, I got the offer.</p><p><strong>What did you and Gov. Lee talk about in your interview? Why do you think he picked you?</strong></p><p>Bottom line, this job was going to be about implementation and execution of the agenda passed through the legislature and through his leadership and (Penny Schwinn’s) leadership at the agency. A lot has already been done. Now the hard work is the implementation piece and that is kind of my sweet spot.</p><blockquote><p>“Tennessee is where reform really percolated and expanded and continues to live.”</p></blockquote><p>When I was chief deputy commissioner in Texas, that’s what I did: Making sure resources are there, thinking about the right resources, bringing folks in to support those implementation efforts — all the pieces of the puzzle that need to come together to ensure that kids and educators get what they need to be successful.</p><p>But sometimes implementation also requires you to say no to some things or to certain vendors.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Because of your policy work with ExcelinEd, with its focus on school choice and privatization, many stakeholders think your selection suggests that voucher expansion and advancing choice programs are Job One for you under this administration. How would you respond?</strong></p><p>First of all, it’s not about privatization. Our No. 1 priority at ExcelinEd was to improve the system because we know that about 90% of our kids are in a public school system. Second priority is the options outside the system, which includes ESAs (education savings accounts, a kind of private school voucher), charter schools, open enrollment, public school choice, letting parents go where they want to go in the public school system. Third priority is reimagining the system, so really thinking about what other ways we can develop these comprehensive high schools. That’s how we think at ExcelinEd, and that’s why I think I was a good candidate for this job.</p><p>Yes, ESAs are part of the package, but it’s not the only package. There is no silver bullet when it comes to education. ESAs are great, but they’re not for everybody. It all depends on the parents and the families and what they want to do and what options they want to pursue.</p><p><strong>It wasn’t that long ago that a Tennessee governor wouldn’t think of choosing an education commissioner who didn’t have teaching experience. But you don’t, nor do you have a teaching license. How will you have “street cred” with educators here, given that your background is primarily in policy and politics?</strong></p><p>As a parent of public school kids, I’m as close to the classroom as you’re going to get because I’m a consumer of the public school system. To say that my experience is irrelevant, I don’t think it’s very fair. But in that vein, I also want to listen and learn. Earlier today, for instance, I met with folks at the Tennessee Education Association (the state’s largest teacher group).&nbsp;</p><p>I’ve got to come at it with empathy and support. Have I done their job every day? No, I haven’t. But we’re all in this together. I’m going to listen. I’m going to engage and implement in a way that is fair and where the decision-making is transparent.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>The department has had a number of significant departures in recent months, including Chief Academic Officer Lisa Coons and </strong><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/5/23750109/tennessee-education-department-eve-carney-penny-schwinn-lizzette-reynolds-bill-lee"><strong>Deputy Commissioner Eve Carney,</strong></a><strong> who was a veteran manager responsible for many of the state’s biggest education programs and initiatives. How are you building out your cabinet and filling out gaps in leadership? Will you look inside or outside of the state?</strong></p><p>I’m looking for the best qualified folks, but my preference is to find people in Tennessee. We just <a href="https://www.tn.gov/education/news/2023/6/22/tdoe-appoints-kristy-brown-as-chief-academic-officer.html">hired Kristy Brown from Jackson as our chief academic officer.</a> We need to fill the role of chief program officer, and I’d love to find a Tennessean for that. I don’t feel the need to look outside of the state because I think there’s a lot of qualified people here. Tennessee is where reform really percolated and expanded and continues to live.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Have you and your family officially moved from Texas to Tennessee, or do you plan to?</strong></p><p>I’m here and I’m moving soon into a place in East Nashville. My husband is staying in Austin with our youngest son, who’s a rising junior, until he finishes high school. Our son wants to look at colleges here, so I’m super excited.</p><p>I don’t know if I’ll go back to Austin to live. We’ll see.</p><p><em>Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at </em><a href="mailto:maldrich@chalkbeat.org"><em>maldrich@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/7/24/23803579/tennessee-education-commissioner-lizzette-gonzalez-reynolds-bill-lee-excelined-school-vouchers-esa/Marta W. Aldrich2023-07-20T18:46:52+00:002023-07-20T18:46:52+00:00<p><a href="https://chalkbeat.admin.usechorus.com/e/23565152"><em><strong>Leer en español.</strong></em></a></p><p>As educators look for ways to help students as they recover academically from pandemic interruptions, tutoring can play a key role.</p><p>But across the country, many leaders are seeing that some of the students who need the help the most <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/17/23726983/high-dosage-tutoring-stanford-research-students-pandemic?utm_source=Chalkbeat&amp;utm_campaign=928f3be94a-National+Why+highdosage+tutoring+is+still+so+hard&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_9091015053-928f3be94a-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D">aren’t taking advantage</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>So, as parents, what questions should you be asking about tutoring and whether your student can benefit? Here are answers to some common questions.&nbsp;</p><h2>When should I consider tutoring for my child?</h2><p>Rhonda Haniford, associate commissioner of the school quality and support division at the Colorado Department of Education, said the first thing to keep in mind is that different tutoring programs are designed to achieve different goals.</p><p>While parents might think tutoring is only to help students who are struggling academically, sometimes programs are designed instead to keep students engaged, accelerate their learning, or hone in on specific skills or needs.&nbsp;</p><p>If a parent believes their child is struggling academically, Haniford said they should look at what their school offers.&nbsp;</p><p>“First, I would say meet with the school and talk about what they’re seeing,” Haniford said. “Talk about what’s working, what are the child’s strengths as well as where are their needs. And can tutoring help? It depends on what the tutoring program is designed to accomplish.”</p><p>Parent Keri Rodrigues said her five sons’ report cards showed good grades and that her boys were doing well. But when she asked them to read to her at home, she noticed two were struggling.&nbsp;</p><p>“These were things I could see,” Rodrigues said.&nbsp;</p><p>Rodrigues is co-founder of the advocacy group <a href="https://nationalparentsunion.org/">National Parents Union</a>. She advises parents to trust their instincts and ask questions when they believe their children might be struggling. That means starting with more conversations with teachers.&nbsp;</p><p>When talking with teachers, Rodrigues said, one of the most important questions to ask is whether your child is reading at grade level, and if not, what is being done to get them there.</p><p>“Report cards often are not telling us this information,” she said.</p><p>Ashara Baker, a mother to a rising second grader and also a leader with National Parents Union, advises parents that if their child attends a school that has low state test scores, they should consider tutoring even if it seems like their child is doing well.</p><h2>What questions should I ask to know if this might be a good tutoring program?</h2><p>Haniford said the first step is to make sure that the goals of the tutoring program match your child’s needs.&nbsp;</p><p>After that, she said, parents should ask if their school has a diagnostic assessment of their child. Most schools do, she said. That information can guide tutors to a student’s needs and to build on their strengths.&nbsp;</p><p>Rodrigues likes to remind parents that they don’t need to be well-versed in education curriculum to start asking questions. She suggests asking if a program is using evidence-based practices, which are strategies that are based on research and have been proven to work, and if their reading programs are based on the science of reading, the research about how children’s brains learn to read.&nbsp;</p><p>“If you hear things like balanced literacy, that might be a problem,” she said. Balanced Literacy is <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2020/3/27/21231320/why-do-so-many-colorado-students-struggle-to-read-flawed-curriculum-is-part-of-the-problem">an approach to teaching reading</a> based on a debunked philosophy that reading is natural and requires encouragement. “Even if you just remember they should say ‘science of reading,’ you shouldn’t be intimidated.”</p><p>Some research shows that <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/17/23726983/high-dosage-tutoring-stanford-research-students-pandemic?utm_source=Chalkbeat&amp;utm_campaign=928f3be94a-National+Why+highdosage+tutoring+is+still+so+hard&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_9091015053-928f3be94a-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D">“high-dosage” tutoring programs may be most effective</a> for students who need academic help. Usually that involves in-person instruction a few times a week.&nbsp;</p><p>Baker is leading an effort to get New York schools to make high-dosage tutoring available in public schools.</p><p>She said good communication is important. Her local district advertised a summer enrichment program, and her daughter attended. Baker knew her daughter was taken to get a library card and to the farmers market, and she heard about how much fun the kids had with water balloons. But Baker said she didn’t know the program was meant to be a form of tutoring.&nbsp;</p><p>“It can be fun, but you have to be checking in: How are we doing? Are we making progress?” Baker said.&nbsp;</p><p>She also suggests asking if tutors are trained and certified and finding out how many students are working with each tutor. Small groups are best, she said.</p><p>Haniford agrees about small groups. She said the most successful programs have no more than six students per tutor.</p><p>“They have a clear purpose and vision for what they want to accomplish, and it’s not a catch-all with too many students, because then students are not getting individualized attention,” Haniford said.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><h2>How do I know if my child is getting the most from their tutoring?</h2><p>Baker suggests that parents make sure the tutoring program their school uses, or that they select from outside groups, does some testing that will measure improvement or where more help is needed.&nbsp;</p><p>The tutoring program she pays to help her daughter outside of school now gives parents regular reports about how things are progressing and how parents can help maintain the progress at home.&nbsp;</p><p>Jennifer Castillo, new principal of Boston P-8 in Aurora, said that the school has tutoring run by an outside group, but uses the school’s own teachers that are already familiar with their students.&nbsp;</p><p>“Having those relationships is very important,” Castillo said. “They know where those student’s gaps are, they know the reasons students are there. I think it’s important for the tutors and the student to be able to go to their parents and show that progress. After a month, I’m seeing an increase in scores or ability or confidence, whatever the issue. As a parent, hopefully you don’t have to ask in a strong partnership.”</p><p>Castillo said that if the program you’re considering has tutors who aren’t teachers in the school, parents might ask if there’s a way for the tutors and teachers to communicate with each other so that the tutoring help is aligned with what is happening in the classroom.</p><h2>Should I wait to get my child into a tutoring program?</h2><p>“There’s always that tug of should I wait a little longer? Maybe it was a rough year. Maybe it was a rough teacher,” Rodrigues said. “Things don’t get easier the more you wait. They get harder.”</p><p>This is especially true for younger children who need extra help to learn to read. Being able to read will help students learn more complex subjects later.&nbsp;</p><p>Haniford and Castillo believe parents should clarify why their child needs a break — is there a social or emotional issue, for example — and to look at various options to address the issue.</p><p>“Kids don’t need a break from learning,” Castillo said. Learning can happen all day, she added. “But we need to ensure they’re engaged and it’s not just sitting and listening. Taking the tutoring outside, making it more hands-on, or making it more applicable might help.”</p><p>Castillo also recommends that students understand the importance of tutoring and the benefits they should see themselves.</p><p>“The students have to want to be involved,” Castillo said. “Letting them have some ownership will help as well.”</p><p><em>Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at yrobles@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/7/20/23798228/tutoring-help-for-child/Yesenia Robles2023-07-20T18:46:46+00:002023-07-20T18:46:46+00:00<p><a href="https://chalkbeat.admin.usechorus.com/e/23562269"><em><strong>Read in English.</strong></em></a></p><p>A la vez que los educadores buscan maneras de ayudar a los estudiantes que se están recuperando académicamente debido a las interrupciones pandémicas, los tutores desempeñan un papel clave.&nbsp;</p><p>Sin embargo, alrededor del país, muchos líderes están observando que algunos de los estudiantes que más necesitan ayuda <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/17/23726983/high-dosage-tutoring-stanford-research-students-pandemic?utm_source=Chalkbeat&amp;utm_campaign=928f3be94a-National+Why+highdosage+tutoring+is+still+so+hard&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_9091015053-928f3be94a-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D">no la están aprovechando</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Por eso, como padre, ¿qué preguntas debes hacer sobre los servicios de tutoría y si tu estudiante podría beneficiarse? Aquí te ofrecemos respuestas a algunas de las preguntas más comunes que los padres tienen.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><h2>¿Cuándo debo pensar en conseguir un tutor para mi hijo? </h2><p>Rhonda Haniford, subcomisionada de la división de calidad y apoyo escolar en el Departamento de Educación de Colorado, dijo que lo primero que hay que tomar en cuenta es que diferentes programas de tutoría están diseñados para alcanzar diferentes objetivos.&nbsp;</p><p>Aunque los padres quizás piensen que la tutoría es solo para ayudar a los estudiantes cuando enfrentan dificultades académicas, a veces los programas están diseñados para mantener a los estudiantes interesados en aprender, acelerar su aprendizaje o enfocarse en habilidades o necesidades específicas.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Si un padre cree que su hijo está enfrentando dificultades académicas, Haniford dijo, debe averiguar lo que su escuela ofrece.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“Primero, yo diría que se reúnan con [el personal de] la escuela y hablen sobre lo que están observando”, Haniford dijo. “Hablen sobre lo que está funcionando, cuáles son las fortalezas del niño, al igual que cuáles son sus necesidades. ¿Y puede ayudarle un tutor? Depende de qué objetivos está diseñado a alcanzar el programa de tutoría”.</p><p>La madre Keri Rodrigues dijo que los reportes de sus cinco hijos mostraban que tenían buenas calificaciones y que a sus niños les estaba yendo bien. Pero cuando les pidió que leyeran en su casa, se dio cuenta de que dos tenían dificultades.&nbsp;</p><p>“Estas son cosas que pude observar”, Rodrigues dijo.&nbsp;</p><p>Rodrigues es cofundadora del grupo de defensa <a href="https://nationalparentsunion.org/">Sindicato Nacional de Padres</a>. Aconseja a padres para que confíen en sus instintos y hagan preguntas cuando crean que sus hijos tienen dificultades. Eso significa empezar a tener más conversaciones con los maestros.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Al hablar con los maestros, Rodrigues dijo, una de las preguntas más importantes que los padres deben hacer es si su hijo está leyendo a nivel de grado y, si no, qué es lo que se está haciendo para que lo logren.</p><p>“Las calificaciones con frecuencia no nos dicen esta información”, dijo.&nbsp;</p><p>Ashara Baker, madre de un estudiante que está por entrar al segundo grado y otra líder con el Sindicato Nacional de Padres, aconseja a los padres cuyos hijos estén en una escuela con bajos niveles estatales que consideren usar servicios de tutoría aunque parezca que a sus hijos les está yendo bien.&nbsp;</p><h2>¿Qué preguntas debo hacer para averiguar si un programa de tutoría es bueno?  </h2><p>Haniford dijo que el primer paso es asegurar que los objetivos del programa de tutoría concuerden con las necesidades de tu hijo.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Después de eso, dijo, los padres deben preguntar si su escuela tiene una evaluación diagnóstica de su hijo. La mayoría de las escuelas las tienen, dijo. Esa información puede guiar a los tutores sobre las necesidades de un estudiante y para que promuevan sus fortalezas.&nbsp;</p><p>A Rodrigues le gusta recordarles a los padres que no necesitan saber todo sobre los planes educativos para empezar a hacer preguntas. Sugiere preguntar si un programa está usando prácticas basadas en la evidencia—las cuales son estrategias basadas en la investigación y que se ha comprobado que funcionan—y si sus programas de lectura se basan en la ciencia de la lectura, los estudios sobre cómo el cerebro de un niño aprende a leer.&nbsp;</p><p>“Si escuchas cosas como ‘lectoescritura balanceada’, eso quizás sea un problema”, dijo. La lectoescritura balanceada es <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2020/3/27/21231320/why-do-so-many-colorado-students-struggle-to-read-flawed-curriculum-is-part-of-the-problem">un método para enseñar a leer</a> basado en una filosofía desprestigiada que dice que la lectura es natural y se necesita animar al estudiante. “Aunque solo recuerdes que deben decir, ‘la ciencia de la lectura’. No te deben intimidar”.</p><p>Algunos estudios muestran que los <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/17/23726983/high-dosage-tutoring-stanford-research-students-pandemic?utm_source=Chalkbeat&amp;utm_campaign=928f3be94a-National+Why+highdosage+tutoring+is+still+so+hard&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_9091015053-928f3be94a-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D">programas de tutoría de “alta dosis” quizás sean los más eficaces</a> para aquellos estudiantes que necesitan ayuda académica. Usualmente eso incluye enseñanza en persona un par de veces a la semana.&nbsp;</p><p>Baker está liderando un esfuerzo para que las escuelas de Nueva York pongan a disponibilidad servicios de tutoría de alta dosis en las escuelas públicas.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Dijo que la buena comunicación es importante. Su distrito local anunció un programa de enriquecimiento para el verano y su hija asistió. Baker sabía que a su hija la llevaron a obtener una tarjeta para la biblioteca y al mercado de granjeros, y escuchó lo mucho que los niños se divirtieron jugando con globos de agua. Pero Baker dijo que no sabía que el programa estaba diseñado para ser un tipo de tutoría.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“Puede ser divertido, pero tienes que estar averiguando: ¿Cómo vamos? ¿Estamos progresando?” Baker dijo.&nbsp;</p><p>También sugiere preguntar si los tutores están capacitados y certificados, y cuántos estudiantes están trabajando con cada tutor. Lo mejor es trabajar en grupos pequeños, dijo.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Haniford está de acuerdo con los grupos pequeños. Dijo que los programas más exitosos tienen no más de seis estudiantes por tutor.&nbsp;</p><p>“Tienen un propósito y una visión clara de lo que quieren lograr y no es multivariado con demasiados estudiantes porque entonces los estudiantes no están recibiendo atención individualizada”, Haniford dijo.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><h2>¿Cómo sé si mi hijo está obteniendo el mayor beneficio posible de la tutoría?  </h2><p>Baker sugiere que los padres se aseguren de que el programa de tutoría que su escuela usa, o el que elijan de grupos externos, realice algunas pruebas que evalúen los avances del estudiante o en qué aspecto necesita más ayuda.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>El programa de tutoría que ella paga para que ayude a su hija afuera de la escuela ahora les da a los padres reportes regulares sobre cómo están progresando las cosas y cómo los padres pueden ayudar a mantener el progreso en su hogar.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Jennifer Castillo, la nueva directora de Boston P-8 en Aurora, dijo que la escuela ofrece servicios de tutoría administrados por un grupo externo pero que usa a los maestros de la escuela, quienes ya conocen a los estudiantes.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“Tener esas relaciones es muy importante”, Castillo dijo. “Saben cuáles son las brechas de esos estudiantes, saben las razones por las que los estudiantes están aquí. Creo que es importante que los tutores y el estudiante puedan acudir a sus padres y demostrar el progreso. Después de un mes, estoy observando un aumento en las calificaciones o la habilidad o seguridad, sea cual sea el problema. Como un padre, espero que no tengas que hacer preguntas en una colaboración fuerte”.</p><p>Castillo dijo que si el programa que los padres están considerando tiene tutores que no son maestros en la escuela, los padres pueden preguntar si hay manera de que los tutores y los maestros se comuniquen entre sí para que la tutoría concuerde con lo que está pasando en el salón de clases.&nbsp;</p><h2>Por último, los padres quizás quieran saber: “¿Me espero?” </h2><p>“Siempre existe esa duda de si debo esperarme un poco más. Quizás fue un año duro. Quizás fue un maestro duro”, Rodrigues dijo. “Las cosas no se ponen más fáciles mientras más esperas. Se ponen más difíciles”.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Esto es especialmente verdad para los niños pequeños que necesitan ayuda adicional para aprender a leer. Poder leer ayudará a los estudiantes para que aprendan conceptos más complicados en el futuro.</p><p>Haniford y Castillo creen que los padres deben aclarar si su hijo necesita un descanso—por ejemplo, si existe un problema social o emocional—y examinar varias opciones para abordar el problema.&nbsp;</p><p>“Los niños no necesitan un descanso del aprendizaje”, Castillo dijo. Aprender puede ocurrir todo el día, agregó. “Pero necesitamos asegurar que estén participando y no es solo estando sentados o escuchando. Llevar la tutoría afuera, hacer que sea más activa, o hacerla más aplicable puede ayudar”.</p><p>Castillo también recomienda que los estudiantes entiendan la importancia de la tutoría y los beneficios que ellos mismo deben observar.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“Los estudiantes tienen que querer estar involucrados”, Castillo dijo. “Dejar que se hagan cargo de algo también ayudará”.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><em>Yesenia Robles es una reportera para Chalkbeat Colorado, cubriendo distritos escolares de kindergarten a 12º grado y la educación multilingüe. Comunícate con Yesenia por correo electrónico a yrobles@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/7/20/23801111/preguntas-sobre-tutoria-escuelas-mi-hijo-beneficiaria-aqui-algunas-respuestas-tus-preguntas/Yesenia Robles2023-07-18T23:13:05+00:002023-07-18T23:13:05+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with NYC’s public schools and statewide education policy. </em></p><p>New York schools are expected to receive state assessment results late this year — a delay that may change how schools decide which students need additional academic support.</p><p>Each spring, schools across the state administer standardized exams in reading and math for third through eighth grade students. The results offer one look at how students are faring. For instance, they showed <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/9/28/23377074/nyc-test-scores-math-reading-david-banks-pandemic">a steep decline in math scores</a> in the city in 2022 as students faced severe pandemic disruptions, even as reading scores rose.</p><p>Under state regulations, schools must consider students who fall below certain scores for academic intervention services, but make final determinations based on a variety of factors and assessments.</p><p>The scores can also be one helpful measure for families and schools to identify ahead of the school year when students are struggling — arming parents with additional information as they may advocate for more resources. The scores can also help schools in making course and programming decisions.&nbsp;</p><p>This past spring, however, students took exams that followed new learning standards. The <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/23/23654125/state-tests-new-york-reading-math-scores-pandemic-learning-loss">“Next Generation Learning Standards”</a> were established after revisions from the controversial Common Core. Intended to clarify previously vague language, the new standards, for example, outlined specific theorems students had to learn in geometry, while the old standards stated only that students must be able to “prove theorems about triangles.”</p><p>State officials said more time is needed to analyze the results and develop “cut scores,” or thresholds for student proficiency, because it’s the first time the new standards were used.&nbsp;</p><p>The state department of education said results are expected to be released in the fall, but declined to provide a specific timeline. Last year, individual student scores were available to families and schools in August, though the broader, citywide figures <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/9/23/23368912/new-york-state-test-score-delay">weren’t publicly released </a>until late September. (About 38% of third through eighth graders passed the 2022 math exams, while about half passed the reading tests.)&nbsp;</p><p>As a result of the expected delay, the state’s Board of Regents Monday adopted an amendment to state regulations allowing schools to bypass the required use of the scores to determine which students should be considered for academic interventions.</p><p>Those services are intended to help students who aren’t meeting the state’s learning standards with extra instructional time and support services.</p><p>Schools previously had to follow a two-step process to identify students in need of services. The first step involved considering all students who fell below an established threshold on the state reading or math tests. The second step required schools follow a locally-developed procedure to determine which students would receive academic intervention services.</p><p>Now, schools can opt out of the two-step process, instead relying solely on the locally-developed procedure.&nbsp;</p><p>According to state guidance, schools should consider multiple measures of student performance, including other assessments and psychoeducational evaluations — but must apply the same standards uniformly at each grade level.</p><p>It’s not the first time that schools will have flexibility to make such determinations without state assessment scores. The state <a href="https://www.nysed.gov/curriculum-instruction/1002-general-school-requirements#AIS">previously gave such leeway to schools</a> in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, as the pandemic saw state testing canceled or disrupted, according to state regulations.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>When reached for comment, DOE officials said they would review the amendment.</p><p>The amendment was adopted as an emergency rule, with a proposal for permanent adoption expected in November after a 60-day public comment period.</p><p>Additionally, when state assessment scores are released this fall, the new standards will once again make it difficult to compare results to prior years. Changes to the exams over the past decade have made it impossible to track trends over time, as officials have warned not to compare results to prior years when aspects of the tests are modified.</p><p>If screened admissions remain the same as last year,&nbsp;the test results should not affect fifth and eighth graders as they head into admissions season. In New York City, public middle and high schools that screen students from admission&nbsp;<a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/9/29/23378824/nyc-middle-high-school-admissions-changes">did not consider state test scores</a>&nbsp;for this year’s rising sixth and ninth graders.</p><p>“While we do not anticipate major changes to school admissions, we are in the midst of engaging with schools and families and want to hear their thoughts about improvements to our process,” education department spokesperson Chyann Tull said in a statement.</p><p><em>Correction: This story initially said that test scores will not be considered for middle and high school admissions this year. The education department has not yet made its final determinations.</em></p><p><em>Julian Shen-Berro is a reporter covering New York City. Contact him at jshen-berro@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2023/7/18/23799637/new-york-state-tests-reading-math-scores-academic-intervention-services/Julian Shen-Berro2023-07-18T21:58:09+00:002023-07-18T21:58:09+00:00<p>Surrounded by books at the Newark Public Library on Tuesday, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka announced a 10-point Youth Literacy Action Plan that calls on the city’s schools, parents, community partners, and programs to get young children reading and writing amid low state test scores.&nbsp;</p><p>The plan focuses on developing literacy opportunities in all city programs, improving access to books that reflect cultural and ethnic backgrounds, encouraging expectant parents to read to their unborn children, and providing tutoring for students during the school day, among other points.&nbsp;</p><p>City, community, and local partners will work to pool their resources to promote the plan, host events and giveaways, and teach parents how to create reading opportunities for their children, city leaders said during a press conference on Tuesday.&nbsp;</p><p>“It is all our responsibility to make sure that our kids are reading on grade level,” Baraka said on Tuesday. “I want everybody to feel the same heaviness and weight that I feel. We believe that this is urgent for all of us to be engaged in immediately.”</p><p>Last spring, only 49% of New Jersey students passed the state’s English language arts test and only 27% of Newark public school students <a href="https://newark.chalkbeat.org/2022/9/30/23381091/newark-nj-njsla-english-language-arts-higher-lower-math-state-test-scores">reached proficiency levels. </a>&nbsp;Among Newark’s third graders, only 19% passed the state’s test, the lowest of any grade in the city.&nbsp;</p><p><aside id="GDfaJF" class="sidebar float-right"><h2 id="6qXF0O">Newark’s 10-Point Youth Literacy Action Plan</h2><ol><li id="yaRhqS">Implement one-one-one high dosage tutoring during the school day and after school.</li><li id="q4hCIL">Select books that reflect children’s cultural and ethnic background.</li><li id="CJbU3b">Incorporate more writing to improve reading and comprehension.</li><li id="IjOds1">Enroll children in free pre-K3 and pre-K4 programs, and ensure everyday attendance.</li><li id="Uht2nB">Read aloud and listen to your child read daily, and ask questions.</li><li id="BHgIqG">Get quality prenatal care and read books to unborn children. </li><li id="cyItBn">Build vocabulary during all ages.</li><li id="ZEEU9Z">Ensure all after-school programs have a reading component. </li><li id="iBtUZL">Develop literacy initiatives throughout the city. </li><li id="aBFgdv">Distribute books for family access to help develop a home library.</li></ol><p id="FbdJDZ"></p></aside></p><p>Experts say being able to read fluently impacts a child’s likelihood to graduate high school, pursue college, and ultimately a career. From kindergarten to third grade students are learning to read and by fourth grade, students are using reading skills to learn, said<strong> </strong>Newark’s<strong> </strong>Chief Education Officer Sharnee Brown during Tuesday’s press conference.</p><p>Baraka’s plan “emphasizes prenatal to third grade” children to ensure the literacy work begins early and sets students up for long-term success, Brown added. The plan also encourages expectant mothers to seek prenatal care in clinics throughout the city to build healthy brain development and recommends that parents read to their unborn children.&nbsp;</p><p>The city’s action plan also calls on parents to enroll young children in free pre-K3 and pre-K4 programs in district or charter schools or programs led by community-based providers. The goal is to motivate families to incorporate reading activities for their children at an early age and continue them outside of the school day by reading to them and helping build their vocabulary.&nbsp;</p><p>“I look at literacy as building a house and ensuring a good, solid foundation,” Brown added. “When we teach young people how to read well, we’re really teaching them how to excel.”</p><p>The action plan encourages Newark parents to develop a home library and provide children with access to books. Research shows that children <a href="https://www.jcfs.org/blog/importance-having-books-your-home#:~:text=The%20study%20also%20showed%20that,having%20parents%20who%20have%20a">growing up in a home with a 500-book library</a> helps them stay in school for 3.2 years longer compared to homes that have little to no books.&nbsp;</p><p>Brown said the city and local community partners are working together to host book giveaways and reading events throughout Newark this summer. In August, the city will host its annual “Reading Under the Stars” event to teach families how to read together. The plan is to “incentivize and celebrate reading” and “make it a Newark culture” to read, Brown added.&nbsp;</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/13asX7LMOsL7tAHJqGVP9DmXW4I=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/4YWQ7E36SJBZ3EWFNIMOIWRMEI.jpg" alt="Newark Chief Education Officer Sharnee Brown explains the importance of promoting reading and developing literacy skills for young children during a press conference." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Newark Chief Education Officer Sharnee Brown explains the importance of promoting reading and developing literacy skills for young children during a press conference.</figcaption></figure><p>“We’re creating these literacy events where parents come and get free books but we’re also teaching parents how to do some of this work,” Brown said.&nbsp;</p><p>The Newark Public Library also offers programming for children year-round including reading activities, and reading challenges for kindergartners, elementary, middle, and high school students.&nbsp;</p><p>“You really want to incorporate literacy and reading into everything,” said Asha Mobiley, youth services supervisor at the Newark Public Library. “We really want to meet our young readers where they are so that we can help them get to where we want them to be.”</p><p>Baraka is also calling on city schools to implement one-on-one high-dosage tutoring during, before, and after the school day to help grow in reading and writing skills.&nbsp;</p><p>Research shows that high-dosage tutoring, or 30-minute tutoring for two to three days a week, provides the most impactful results. Newark Public Schools will continue to host its after-school Excel program this coming school year to provide tutoring, but will create more tutoring opportunities while students are in school, Superintendent Roger León said during a June press conference.&nbsp;</p><p>Currently, the district utilizes skills from an evidence-based reading approach known as the science of reading to teach students how to read, said León in June. This coming school year, the district will be using the “Fundations” program to help students learn the foundational skills of reading such as phonics, spelling, and writing, Mary Ann Reilly, Newark Public Schools assistant superintendent and director of the Office of Teaching and Learning, said on Tuesday.&nbsp;</p><p>“We also want to make sure that children are building important knowledge and they’re using reading in order to do that,” Reilly added.&nbsp;</p><p>Additionally, Newark’s plan calls on community-based and after-school programs to incorporate a literacy component into their programming and mandate funding to programs and sports that incorporate some level of reading and literacy. All city programs must provide a literacy program and if they don’t, Baraka wants parents to hold those programs accountable.&nbsp;</p><p>The 10-point plan was developed through research-informed data on literacy and in collaboration with Baraka’s Brain Trust, a group of community organizations focused on improving reading levels in Newark.</p><p><em>Jessie Gómez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at </em><a href="mailto:jgomez@chalkbeat.org"><em>jgomez@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>. </em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/newark/2023/7/18/23799471/newark-nj-mayor-ras-baraka-10-point-youth-literacy-action-plan-reading/Jessie Gómez2023-07-18T21:14:52+00:002023-07-18T21:14:52+00:00<p>Most Tennessee school systems increased their students’ proficiency rates in math and English language arts last school year, according to district-level test scores released Tuesday by the state.</p><p>The latest scores generally mirrored statewide data released last month that <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/29/23778700/tennessee-tcap-tnready-statewide-2023-test-scores-pandemic">showed gains across all core subjects and grades,</a> even exceeding pre-pandemic proficiency rates in English language arts and social studies.</p><p>But large learning gaps remain, especially for historically underserved students including children with disabilities, those from low-income families, and students of color.</p><p>The results are an important marker as school systems work to recover from <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2021/8/2/22605300/tennessee-pandemic-student-tcap-scores-decline-covid">steep learning losses in 2021,</a> when the first test scores from the pandemic period declined dramatically across Tennessee and the rest of the nation.</p><p>The scores also give a localized snapshot of how school districts are doing with tutoring, summer school, and other programs designed to accelerate learning after the pandemic.</p><p>Below, you can look up how your school district performed in English language arts and math in 2022-23 under the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, or TCAP.</p><p>You also can delve further into local results, including scores in science and social studies, via Tennessee’s new online dashboard on its <a href="https://tdepublicschools.ondemand.sas.com/districts">State Report Card</a>.</p><p><em>Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent covering the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at </em><a href="mailto:maldrich@chalkbeat.org"><em>maldrich@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>Thomas Wilburn is Chalkbeat’s senior data editor. Contact him at </em><a href="mailto:twilburn@chalkbeat.org"><em>twilburn@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/7/18/23799517/tennessee-school-district-tcap-scores-2022-2023-pandemic-recovery-lookup/Marta W. Aldrich, Thomas Wilburn2023-07-18T17:26:47+00:002023-07-18T17:26:47+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/national"><em>Chalkbeat’s free weekly newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with how education is changing across the U.S. </em></p><p>Some have <a href="https://apnews.com/article/reading-scores-phonics-mississippi-alabama-louisiana-5bdd5d6ff719b23faa37db2fb95d5004">called</a> it the “Mississippi miracle.” Others say not so fast.</p><p>In the last decade, Mississippi students have rapidly closed the test score gap with the nation as a whole, particularly in fourth grade. State officials, education wonks, and national journalists have attributed these improvements to the state’s 2013 early reading law, which included emphasizing phonics and <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/12/23758532/grade-retention-social-promotion-studies-reading-research-mississippi">holding back</a> third graders who struggle to read.&nbsp;</p><p>The purported link between the state’s policies and its upward trajectory has become one of the nation’s most talked-about education stories.&nbsp;</p><p>“Mississippi has shown that it is possible to raise standards even in a state ranked dead last in the country in child poverty and hunger,” <em>New York Times</em> columnist Nick Kristof <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/31/opinion/mississippi-education-poverty.html">wrote in May</a>.&nbsp;</p><p><aside id="pwy0VX" class="sidebar float-right"><h2 id="zCHBhT">What to make of Mississippi’s NAEP gains</h2><ul><li id="dE4X6b">Mississippi has seen large gains in fourth grade and moderate gains in eighth grade math and reading tests.</li><li id="tIBPCS">There is little evidence to suggest that these gains are the results of gaming the system, such as preventing low-performing students from taking the exam.</li><li id="nbpieM">Mississippi’s alignment of its own state test to national exams is one possible explanation for some of these gains, although there is no firm evidence on this.</li><li id="VAi50D">State officials suggest gains are due to the state’s early reading intervention efforts — and some research supports that.</li><li id="qQIzN7">However, other states that have implemented similar policies have not seen gains of that magnitude, suggesting there is more to the story that is not yet fully understood.</li></ul></aside></p><p>State policymakers elsewhere are <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/2/23/23611426/tennessee-reading-retention-mississippi-miracle-bill-lee-legislature">paying attention</a>: Some <a href="https://apnews.com/article/reading-scores-phonics-mississippi-alabama-louisiana-5bdd5d6ff719b23faa37db2fb95d5004">say</a> they’re modeling new laws after Mississippi’s.</p><p>But a few commentators have pushed back on this rosy narrative. Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik recently <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-07-03/how-mississippi-gamed-national-reading-test-to-produce-miracle-gains">claimed</a> scores had been “gamed.”&nbsp;</p><p>So who’s right?</p><p>In short, the state’s educational improvement appears to be legitimate and meaningful. It’s true that calling these gains a “miracle” seems overstated, and some questions about them warrant further investigation. But there’s little if any evidence they’re artificially inflated.&nbsp;</p><p>There is still one big question that hasn’t been conclusively answered, though: <em>Why</em> did the state experience such large improvements?&nbsp;</p><p>Some <a href="https://www.edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai23-788.pdf">research</a> supports the prevailing explanation that Mississippi’s early literacy policies contributed to better test scores. But other states have implemented similar policies and not seen gains nearly as large. It’s not clear what explains the Magnolia State’s outsized improvements.&nbsp;</p><p>Call it the Mississippi mystery.</p><h2>Mississippi closes the gap on national tests</h2><p>For decades, Mississippi’s test scores have been far below the national average. But between 2013 and 2019, the state’s students made big strides on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a closely watched test given periodically to fourth and eighth graders. These gains are all the more striking because national test scores <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2019/10/30/21109133/reading-scores-fall-on-nation-s-report-card-while-disparities-grow-between-high-and-low-performers">stagnated</a> during this time.&nbsp;</p><p>By 2019, Mississippi was at about the national average in fourth grade <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/mathematics/states/scores/?grade=4">math</a> and <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading/states/scores/?grade=4">reading</a>. In eighth grade, it was still below average, but the gap with the nation had shrunk.&nbsp;</p><p>Mississippi’s schools look even better after taking into account the fact that it has an extremely high <a href="https://www.childrensdefense.org/policy/resources/soac-2020-child-poverty-tables/">child poverty rate</a>, which is correlated with lower test scores. An <a href="https://apps.urban.org/features/naep/">analysis</a> of 2019 scores by the Urban Institute showed that — adjusted for demographics, including family income and race — Mississippi was one of the country’s top-rated states in fourth grade and above average in eighth grade.&nbsp;</p><p>In 2022 in the wake of the pandemic, the state saw sharp drops in test scores, but <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/24/23417139/naep-test-scores-pandemic-school-reopening">the same was true in the country</a> as a whole.&nbsp;</p><h2>Critiques of the state’s gains fall short</h2><p>Hiltzik, the Los Angeles Times<em> </em>columnist, advanced two major critiques of the state’s test score gains in a recent <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-07-03/how-mississippi-gamed-national-reading-test-to-produce-miracle-gains">column</a>.</p><p>First, he argued that by holding back struggling third-graders, the state had inflated its test scores by removing those students from the pool of fourth grade test-takers.&nbsp;</p><p>In reality, this could help explain test scores jumps for a short period of time, but it doesn’t make much sense for longer-term gains. Eventually, students who are retained in early grades will move up to the next grade — they are not held back forever. Because Mississippi has seen sustained improvements, retention gaming appears to be an unlikely explanation.</p><p>Another critique is that the gains in fourth grade had “vanished by the eighth grade,” as Hiltzik put it. This claim is misleading. Between 2013 and 2022, Mississippi had roughly cut in half the test score gap in eighth grade between itself and the nation. Although this is not as large as the gains in fourth grade, it is still substantial.&nbsp;</p><p>Some of the disconnect between early and later grades may also reflect the fact that fourth graders who took the NAEP in 2019 and saw improved scores had not yet reached eighth grade for the 2022 exam.</p><p>Andrew Ho, a testing expert at Harvard University and previously a member of the board that oversees NAEP, said his instinct is to question big test score gains. But in the case of Mississippi, he said, “I don’t see any smoking guns or red flags that make me say that they’re gaming NAEP.”</p><h2>Impact of state test change may be worth examining</h2><p>One sometimes overlooked change in Mississippi education policy in the last decade involved not curriculum or instruction, but its testing regimen.</p><p>In 2015, Mississippi <a href="https://www.mdek12.org/OCGR/blueprint-of-new-mississippi-assessment-program-tests-available">overhauled</a> its state test, including by aligning it more closely with NAEP.&nbsp;</p><p>“When writing the new assessment, the Mississippi Department of Education looked at NAEP frameworks — the blueprints for the content and design of each assessment — to ensure that the new state assessment mirrored expectations on The Nation’s Report Card,” according to a <a href="https://www.nagb.gov/content/dam/nagb/en/documents/newsroom/press-releases/2018/release-20181105-mississippi-narrative.pdf">publication</a> from the board that oversees NAEP.</p><p>Testing experts say that focusing on the content of a particular exam might improve scores because educators teach to that specific test. This is not necessarily bad if the content reflects what students should know.</p><p>Still, NAEP is supposed to be an external check on state assessments and if the two tests are very similar, it might not serve that purpose as well. “To the extent you prioritize NAEP, you risk inflating NAEP scores,” said Ho.&nbsp;</p><p>However, the state testing shift began in 2015, while NAEP gains began in 2013. Additional scrutiny might shed more light on this issue.&nbsp;</p><h2>Early literacy law might be part of explanation </h2><p>The commonly told story for why Mississippi has apparently seen substantial improvements in student learning has a clear protagonist: Its early literacy law.&nbsp;</p><p>“Progress began after the 2013 passage of the Literacy-Based Promotion Act,” former Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant wrote <a href="https://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2023/06/26/mississippi_celebrates_major_educational_victory_110879.html">recently</a>. “The genius behind this law comes from its ability to reach students when it counts and identifies K–3 students who need additional reading help as early as possible.”<strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><p>NAEP scores on their own cannot show cause and effect, but some research supports this explanation.</p><p>One <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/12/23758532/grade-retention-social-promotion-studies-reading-research-mississippi">study</a> found that retained third graders in Mississippi subsequently made large test score gains. Another <a href="https://www.edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai23-788.pdf">recent study</a> looked at a number of states, including Mississippi, that had adopted comprehensive early literacy policies. This was defined by a set of sixteen <a href="https://excelined.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ExcelinEd_PolicyToolkit_EarlyLiteracy_StatebyStateAnalysis_2021.pdf">policies</a> supported by the advocacy group ExcelinEd, including training in <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/2/10/22928408/science-of-reading-training-may-be-required-for-colorado-principals">the “science of reading,”</a> grade retention, reading coaches, and more. (ExcelinEd, founded by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, encourages states to model its policies after Florida’s and played a key role in <a href="https://excelined.org/2023/06/01/literacy-success-does-not-happen-overnight/#:~:text=Mississippi%20was%20paying%20attention.,at%20risk%20for%20reading%20failure.">supporting</a> Mississippi’s 2013 law.)</p><p>The researchers found that states with all these policies in place made bigger gains on the NAEP reading tests than states without those policies or only some policies in place. The improvement amounted to four to five points in fourth grade reading several years after the enactment of a state’s early literacy law.</p><p>“Retention, coupled with this wide range of supports for teachers and students, may be the most effective way to improve students’ literacy learning,” said Amy Cummings, a graduate student at Michigan State University and coauthor of the study.</p><p>Mississippi’s fourth grade reading scores jumped by ten points between 2013 and 2019 — more than other states that enacted similar laws. Some of those gains came between 2013 and 2015, before the law had been fully implemented. For instance, the law’s third grade retention mandate didn’t begin to <a href="https://www.mississippifirst.org/blog/the-truth-about-mississippis-naep-gains/">apply</a> until 2015. The state also saw similarly large gains in math.</p><p>This implies the state’s gains were partly but not entirely due to the reading law.</p><p>What else could explain the improvements? Rachel Canter, executive director of the education advocacy group Mississippi First, hypothesizes that the state’s focus on aligning its standards, testing, and accountability system —&nbsp;and sticking with it for many years — paid off.&nbsp;</p><p>“We were raising standards, raising expectations — teachers were actively trying to meet those raised standards and expectations and then we were testing on them,” she said. Perhaps this was particularly helpful since the state’s students were starting at a low level of performance.&nbsp;</p><p>But many other states also adopted new standards and testing during this period and <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2019/4/29/21121004/nearly-a-decade-later-did-the-common-core-work-new-research-offers-clues">didn’t experience</a> much growth.&nbsp;</p><p>Ultimately, this uncertainty suggests that states that adopt Mississippi-like early reading policies might expect to see some meaningful gains, but shouldn’t expect Mississippi-sized improvements.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Matt Barnum is a national reporter covering education policy, politics, and research. Contact him at mbarnum@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/18/23799124/mississippi-miracle-test-scores-naep-early-literacy-grade-retention-reading-phonics/Matt Barnum2023-07-17T16:37:46+00:002023-07-17T16:37:46+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with the Memphis-Shelby County Schools and statewide education policy.</em></p><p>Several of Memphis’ lowest performing schools face an uncertain future — and possible closure — as their charter agreements with Tennessee’s turnaround district near expiration.</p><p>Five of them, including MLK College Prep High School, are seeking approval to return to Memphis-Shelby County Schools as charter schools after a decade in the state-run Achievement School District. But MSCS officials <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/26/23698639/memphis-shelby-county-schools-charter-applications-achievement-district-turnaround">have recommended denying their charter applications</a>, along with bids from four proposed new charter schools.&nbsp;</p><p>If the MSCS board votes to accept the district’s recommendations and deny the charters when it meets Tuesday, it would leave some 2,000 students with high academic needs in limbo, unsure of where they’ll attend classes in the 2024-25 school year.&nbsp;</p><p>Another web of decisions would determine what happens next to those students, and to the schools. So far, neither the district nor the board has articulated a comprehensive strategy for dealing with the fallout of the ASD’s collapse.</p><p>“We should have talked about this two years ago, since we all knew it was coming,” said Bobby White, head of the charter company that runs MLK College Prep.</p><p>MSCS officials have said they talk to operators and tailor individual decisions because “each school in the ASD is unique.”</p><p><aside id="eaWCH8" class="sidebar float-right"><h2 id="dIi9ME">Nine charter schools want to open in MSCS </h2><p id="umAevc">Memphis-Shelby County Schools officials have recommended that the school board reject nine charter schools that <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tn/scsk12/Board.nsf/files/CTLTM277F5E0/$file/FINAL%20July%202023%20Academic%20Committee%20Meeting%203.pdf">submitted amended applications</a> in a second-round process. </p><p id="CfeTNq">Five are existing schools in the Achievement School District: </p><ul><li id="KkoTtR">Cornerstone Prep Lester Campus School, sponsored by Capstone Education Group</li><li id="jzUKZP">Fairley High School, sponsored by Green Dot Public Schools TN</li><li id="n9SKFy">Humes Middle School, sponsored by Frayser Community Schools</li><li id="jqMuJw">Journey Coleman, sponsored by Journey Community Schools</li><li id="35HoR2">MLK College Prep High School, sponsored by Frayser Community Schools</li></ul><p id="EaXR2a">The other four are proposed new charter schools: </p><ul><li id="zEA5c1">Change Academy, sponsored by Trust God and Never Doubt Outreach</li><li id="Qdvvsv">Empower Memphis Career &amp; College Prep, sponsored by Empower Career and College Prep</li><li id="2vi4f8">Pathways In Education-Memphis, sponsored by Pathways Management Group</li><li id="xr9m8m">Tennessee Career Academy, sponsored by TN Career Academy Inc.</li></ul></aside></p><p>The board could defy the district recommendations and approve the charters, <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/7/26/23279600/north-memphis-charter-school-westside-middle-wins-approval-frayser-community-schools">as it has done before</a>. But the district argues that it’s not in its interest to bring poorly performing charter schools back into the district. This year, all five applicants bear the same low-performing “priority” designation that primed them for state takeover a decade ago.</p><p>“We want high quality seats for our students,” said Brittany Monda, MSCS’ assistant superintendent of charter schools.&nbsp;</p><h2>ASD schools could close </h2><p>When the state assigned its lowest-performing public schools — most of them in Memphis — to the Achievement School District, the idea was that charter operators would take them over, turn them around, and eventually return the schools to the home districts in better shape.&nbsp;</p><p>But <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2019/7/16/21108497/tennessee-school-turnaround-models-either-haven-t-worked-or-are-stalling-out-new-research-finds">the plan didn’t work.</a> Many of the schools languished or continued to perform poorly under the charter operators. That means that despite 10 years of state oversight, most do not meet state and local performance standards used by local officials to evaluate charter applications.</p><p><a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tn/scsk12/Board.nsf/files/CTMMME5BE613/$file/FINAL%20July%202023%20Academic%20Committee%20Meeting%203.pdf">Data presented by MSCS</a> indicates that despite some gains over the years, each of the five schools has fewer than 12% of students on track in reading and math.</p><p>State law allows Tennessee school boards to close charter schools in their own portfolios that have priority designations, and that could happen in Memphis if the MSCS board accepts the ASD schools and they don’t make significant academic gains. <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tn/scsk12/Board.nsf/files/BG5K3D4FE118/$file/1011%20Charter%20Schools.pdf">Memphis policy favors</a> new charter schools that would give other options to students who go to a low-performing school.&nbsp;</p><p>If the board turns down the ASD schools, <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/31/23665497/memphis-shelby-hanley-school-asd-tennessee-turnaround">MSCS could decide to resume operating them as traditional schools</a>. Otherwise, the ASD schools would close when their charters expire at the end of the 2023-24 school year.</p><h2>MSCS facilities plan complicates unraveling of ASD</h2><p>It’s no surprise that MSCS is wary of assuming responsibility for more schools. District leaders have been trying over the past decade to align school capacity with shifts in enrollment, and to figure out how to improve the condition of decaying school buildings. Facility plans have been continually revised in recent years, but have never been fully executed.&nbsp;</p><p>Consolidating schools that are operating under capacity would offer better learning environments for students, officials say, and cut down on a costly list of building repair projects.&nbsp;</p><p>Interim Superintendent Toni Williams is poised to deliver a new facilities plan next month. The ASD charter schools — operating in buildings MSCS still owns — could be part of this plan.&nbsp;</p><p>Already, <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/13/23682582/memphis-shelby-county-schools-commission-capital-funding-frayser-trezevant-mlk-construction">the district is planning for a new Frayser high school</a> that would combine students at Trezevant High School and MLK College Prep. The district plans to build it at the MLK site.</p><p>White, the leader of MLK College Prep’s charter operator, Frayser Community Schools, has said that if the MSCS board approves the charter school, he would end the charter agreement early,&nbsp;when it’s time for students at MLK College Prep to move into the new building.&nbsp;</p><p>But if the school isn’t approved as a charter, the district will have to choose between operating it or letting it close. If it closes, students currently zoned to MLK College Prep would have to be reassigned to Trezevant or other schools until a new high school is built.</p><p>Stephanie Love, a school board member and longtime advocate for students in the ASD, peppered district officials with questions about school closures and consolidations during a committee meeting last week.&nbsp;</p><p>She pointed out that the district makes decisions to close and consolidate traditional schools based on academic performance, enrollment, and school building needs — criteria similar to the ones it uses to evaluate charter schools.</p><p>Many ASD schools have closed already without any MSCS school board vote.&nbsp;</p><p>If the five ASD schools seeking charter approvals eventually return to the district as traditional schools, they could become part of MSCS’ own turnaround model, called the Innovation Zone, or iZone. The model takes advantage of centralized resources and pays teachers more for working a longer day.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2021/12/13/22832734/tennessee-asd-memphis-schools-shelby-county-state-takeover-turnaround">A handful of former ASD schools joined the iZone last year</a>, as traditional MSCS schools, and another will join this school year. Monda, the charter office leader, said the returned schools have shown “promising results,” but did provide any data. (Charter schools cannot be part of the iZone.)</p><h2>Charter operators may have a chance to appeal or reapply</h2><p>Tuesday’s board vote on the five ASD schools — and the four new applicants — won’t be the end of the story for any of them.&nbsp;</p><p>If they lose their bids for charter approval, they could <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2021/5/4/22419528/plan-for-exiting-schools-from-tennessee-turnaround-district-will-head-to-governors-desk">appeal the decision to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission</a>, or in some cases reapply next year.</p><p>White, the ASD charter operator, said that if the board turns down his applications, he doesn’t plan to appeal. He said he wants to support the district’s plan for Memphis students. But he said there should have been a more comprehensive plan for the schools serving the Memphis and Tennessee students who have struggled the most academically.&nbsp;</p><p>“Our contracts say our time is up after the 10th year,” he said. “And I’m hoping that we have an opportunity after this round … to really dig in on what’s going to happen to … all the other schools coming back in the years to follow.”</p><p>Another set of ASD schools serving about 2,000 more students have charters set to expire in coming school years.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Laura at </em><a href="mailto:LTestino@chalkbeat.org"><em>LTestino@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/7/17/23797481/memphis-shelby-county-schools-tennessee-achievement-school-district-new-charters-turnaround/Laura Testino2023-07-14T12:00:00+00:002023-07-14T12:00:00+00:00<p>Indiana’s latest ILEARN scores show that Black and Hispanic students in independent charters in Indianapolis continue to outperform their peers in Indianapolis Public Schools and the district’s own charter schools.&nbsp;</p><p>IPS, however, is inching along in its <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/1/31/23578666/indianapolis-public-schools-ilearn-scores-2022-math-english-proficiency">pandemic academic recovery</a> with a greater share of students proficient in both subjects than in 2019, while independent charters and charters in the IPS Innovation Network as a whole have yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels.&nbsp;</p><p>The results for the three public school systems serving students within IPS attendance boundaries show slow growth in some areas and stagnation in others, in some cases mirroring a <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/11/23787212/nwea-learning-loss-academic-recovery-testing-data-covid">recent national analysis</a> showing students experienced little to no academic progress in the 2022-23 academic year. (Chalkbeat’s analysis of independent charters included some schools that are physically outside of IPS boundaries but enroll a majority of IPS students).&nbsp;</p><p>IPS&nbsp;rates remained low: 14.8% of students scored proficient in both math and English, up slightly from 14.1% the year before, and more than 4 percentage points above 2021 scores. The most recent scores are one point higher than rates from 2019, the first time students took the exam.&nbsp;</p><p>The gains since 2021 have largely been driven by the district’s white students, whose proficiency rates have jumped by roughly 10 percentage points since the pandemic low in 2021 and are even higher than when students first took the ILEARN in 2019. Black and Hispanic students in IPS, however, have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.&nbsp;</p><p>Charter schools within the IPS Innovation Network — a consortium of autonomous schools considered a part of IPS — collectively also increased combined English and math proficiency rates slightly from 6.7% to 6.9%.</p><p>On average, independent charters that are not affiliated with IPS slightly increased rates from 17% to 18% proficiency in both math and English. Black and Hispanic students in these schools continue to perform better than their peers in IPS. As a group, however, these schools have yet to reach pre-pandemic proficiency levels.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>The results are similar to statewide rates that have <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/12/23791540/ilearn-2023-indiana-test-scores-explained-decline-reading-math-proficiency">also largely stalled </a>— proficiency rates in both subjects increased from 30.2% to 30.6%.&nbsp;</p><p>IPS, however, is the only school district in Marion County that has exceeded 2019 rates for the percentage of students proficient in both subjects.&nbsp;</p><p>Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said she’s not satisfied with the outcomes, but is pleased to see continued progress.&nbsp;</p><p>“The fact that we stayed stable in English language arts, saw some positive movement in math, I think is a positive for us as a district given the context of the past year,” she said.&nbsp;</p><h2>IPS mirrors statewide math gains and English losses</h2><p>In IPS, proficiency rates in English dipped minutely from 22.3% to 22.2%&nbsp; while rates in math slightly increased from 19.5% to 21.1%.</p><p>IPS maintains a significant gap between white students on one hand and Hispanic and Black students on the other for<strong> </strong>percentages of students scoring proficient in English, math,<strong> </strong>and both subjects.&nbsp;</p><p>Johnson said the district has to double down on successful initiatives to drive student achievement, including <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/10/23629236/learning-loss-tutoring-students-pandemic-funds-covid">tutoring programs</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>This year, the district is expanding virtual tutoring during school hours to all schools that wish to participate. The district began an overhaul in curriculum in 2020.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;“We have to be really urgent about the work we’re doing,” Johnson said.&nbsp;</p><p>Different circumstances may affect scores for school systems as a whole. For example, eight Innovation Network charter schools <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/3/23665345/indianapolis-public-schools-restart-charter-operators-test-scores-ilearn-iread-curriculum-teachers">are chronically underperforming schools</a>. To improve achievement, the district assigned them to a charter operator, but several still struggle.&nbsp;</p><p>Half of the eight so-called restart schools last spring increased the percentage of students proficient in both subjects.&nbsp;</p><p>Combined proficiency at Adelante Schools at Emma Donnan Elementary and Middle School dipped slightly from 12.4% to 12.2%, but the school still maintains the highest rate among restart schools. Adelante’s individual rates for English and math also declined.&nbsp;</p><p>Eddie Rangel, Adelante’s executive director, said the school enrolled 194 new students in the 2022-23 year. He said new students had lower proficiency rates than longer-enrolled students.&nbsp;</p><p>“I don’t think any of us really know what’s going on, and it is frustrating to think we can’t pinpoint one thing,” Rangel said of <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/11/23787212/nwea-learning-loss-academic-recovery-testing-data-covid">national reports of stagnant learning</a>. He said Adelante is focusing on grade-level scores and improvement.</p><p>Rangel said he hopes new state standards and revised school attendance boundaries will help stability and academics.&nbsp;</p><h2>Black, Hispanic students in independent charters perform better</h2><p>Independent charters continue to show higher rates for students proficient in both English and math.&nbsp;</p><p>This group of schools also maintains the highest proficiency rates for Black and Hispanic students, rates that have risen the most since 2021 but have still not reached 2019 levels.</p><p>“I do think that we have enough evidence that the independent charter schools in Indianapolis for Black students in particular are making tremendously larger academic gains than what we’re seeing for other schools,” said Brandon Brown, CEO of the Mind Trust nonprofit that helps incubate charter schools in Indianapolis. “The question is ‘What are the conditions that are driving those gains?’”</p><p><em>Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at </em><a href="mailto:apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org"><em>apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/indiana/2023/7/14/23794234/indianapolis-public-schools-ilearn-2023-test-scores-independent-charters-perform-better-innovation/Amelia Pak-Harvey2023-07-12T13:05:44+00:002023-07-12T13:05:44+00:00<p>ILEARN scores for 2023 were released Wednesday, with Indiana students doing slightly better than last year on their overall scores.</p><p>In 2023, about 30.6% of students in grades 3-8 statewide scored proficient or better in both the English and math sections of the ILEARN state test — only a fraction of a percentage point above the 30.2% last year.&nbsp;</p><p>By subject, 40.7% of students were proficient in English, and 40.9% were proficient in math. That’s a drop of half a percentage point in English and a 1.5 percentage point increase over last year in math.</p><p>See how students at your school did on the ILEARN test using the table below:</p><p><em>Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at </em><a href="mailto:aappleton@chalkbeat.org"><em>aappleton@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/indiana/2023/7/12/23792266/ilearn-2023-test-scores-school-district-look-up/Aleksandra Appleton2023-07-12T13:00:00+00:002023-07-12T13:00:00+00:00<p>Indiana’s statewide testing scores stagnated this year as students faced an uneven academic recovery, with gains in math proficiency and declines in English.&nbsp;</p><p>Around 30.6% of students in grades 3-8 statewide scored proficient or better in both the English and math sections of the ILEARN state test — only a fraction of a percentage point above the 30.2% <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2022/7/13/23205866/ilearn-indiana-state-testing-scores-2022-pandemic-recovery">last year</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Even though overall math scores rose 1.5 percentage points over last year, English scores dropped half a percentage point despite <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/25/23737924/indiana-science-of-reading-standards-law-phonics-requirements-literacy-curriculum-change">a statewide effort</a> to boost literacy. In 2023, 40.7% of students were proficient in English, and 40.9% were proficient in math.</p><p>Reading proficiency rates have dropped back to <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2021/7/14/22576050/look-up-your-indiana-2021-ilearn-and-istep-test-scores">2021 levels</a> after gains in 2022, with several student groups showing a percentage-point decline this year.</p><p><a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2021/7/14/22576050/look-up-your-indiana-2021-ilearn-and-istep-test-scores">Overall scores</a> still remain far below pre-pandemic levels: In 2019, around 37% of students scored proficient in both English and math. Around 48% of students scored proficient in at least one of the sections.&nbsp;</p><p>“When we set our standards in 2019, compared to the data we’re seeing now, we’re still about 6% below where we were in 2019,” said Charity Flores, chief academic officer at the Indiana Department of Education.</p><p>The department acknowledged in a presentation to the State Board of Education that more targeted support is needed in English, especially for English learner students and middle schoolers. Seventh grade English scores dropped nearly 3 percentage points.&nbsp;</p><p>The state launched several initiatives in the last year to improve reading skills, including increasing funding for English learners.&nbsp;</p><p>New laws also require schools and teacher preparation programs to align their literacy instruction with research-backed methods known collectively as <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/21/23768637/science-reading-curriculum-teachers-colleges-preparation-programs-lilly-grant-nctq-report">the science of reading</a>. The state also recently <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/7/23752488/indiana-reduced-new-academic-standards-review-state-test-graduates-college-career">reduced the number of standards</a> required of&nbsp; students in order to allow teachers to focus on the most essential skills.&nbsp;</p><p>Students will take a brand-new statewide test by 2025-26, as the department undertakes a redesign of the assessment.</p><p>The goal of the redesign is to make the results clearer to families and teachers with more frequent data, Flores said, as well as to shorten the final assessment. Students will take informal, check-in assessment throughout the year.</p><h2>2023 ILEARN results by school and student group</h2><p>Some student groups showed signs of improvement on the 2023 ILEARN. For the second year in a row, Black students posted at least a percentage point increase in both math and English.</p><p>Sixth graders posted a 2.8 percentage-point increase in math proficiency and a 1.8 percentage-point increase in English.&nbsp;</p><p>Additionally, around 53% of third graders scored proficient or better in math, making them once again the only grade where more than half of students were proficient in either subject. Those students have only known school during the pandemic.</p><p>At Indianapolis Public Schools, proficiency rates for English stayed flat from <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/1/31/23578666/indianapolis-public-schools-ilearn-scores-2022-math-english-proficiency">last year</a>, while math scores climbed 1.6 percentage points. Overall, 14.8% of students were proficient in both math and English.&nbsp;</p><p>Meanwhile, Brownsburg schools in neighboring Hendricks County had the highest percentage of students who tested proficient, 63.4%.</p><p>Below, look up scores at your school.</p><h2>Academic recovery is stabilizing for most students</h2><p>At a Wednesday State Board of Education meeting, Department of Education officials also presented the results of a multiyear study on the impact of the pandemic on students’ academics.&nbsp;</p><p>This year’s analysis showed that nearly all students are stabilizing in both English and math, with no further declines. But students are not accelerating their learning at the rates needed to return to their pre-pandemic performance, according to the presentation.&nbsp;</p><p>Notably, English performance among English learner students is still declining.</p><p>Flores said the data indicates that the education system is returning to a pre-pandemic normal, but specific student groups — including English learners, middle schoolers, and students who were below proficiency before the pandemic — have yet to recover.</p><p>“Specific conversations and concerted efforts are needed to best support their learning,” she said.</p><h2>SAT scores also show a decline</h2><p>In addition to scores for students in grades 3-8, the Department of Education on Wednesday released SAT proficiency rates for Indiana juniors, who take the test as a graduation requirement.</p><p>The percentage of students who tested as college ready declined in both math, and reading and writing from last year.&nbsp;</p><p>Around 31% of juniors met the benchmark in the spring compared with 33% in 2022, the first year the test was required.</p><p>In reading and writing, around 50% of students met the benchmark this year, compared with 52% in 2023.&nbsp;</p><p>The department is also considering new graduation requirements to align with Indiana’s push for <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2023/2/1/23581948/indiana-job-training-reinventing-high-school-proposal-bill-career-fair-vote">more work-based learning</a>, though it’s unclear whether the SAT requirement would be affected.</p><p><em>Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at </em><a href="mailto:aappleton@chalkbeat.org"><em>aappleton@chalkbeat.org.</em></a></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/indiana/2023/7/12/23791540/ilearn-2023-indiana-test-scores-explained-decline-reading-math-proficiency/Aleksandra Appleton2023-07-11T04:01:00+00:002023-07-11T04:01:00+00:00<p>There’s been little, if any, progress making up large learning gaps that have emerged since the onset of the pandemic, according to a <a href="https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/educations-long-covid-2022-23-achievement-data-reveal-stalled-progress-toward-pandemic-recovery/">new analysis</a> of data from the testing group NWEA.&nbsp;</p><p>In the 2022-23 school year, students learned at a similar or slower rate compared to a typical pre-pandemic school year, the analysis found. This left intact the substantial learning losses, which have barely budged since the spring of 2021.</p><p>NWEA offers only one data point based on a subset of American students, and more data from other exams will be needed to produce a clearer picture of academic progress during this last school year. Still, NWEA’s analysis is a concerning indication that the <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/21/23767632/naep-math-reading-learning-loss-covid-long-term-trend">steep</a> <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/7/28/22596904/pandemic-covid-school-learning-loss-nwea-mckinsey">learning</a> <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/24/23417139/naep-test-scores-pandemic-school-reopening">losses</a> seen since the pandemic have proven difficult to ameliorate and could have lasting <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/7/19/23269210/learning-loss-recovery-data-nwea-pandemic">consequences</a> for students and the country.</p><p>The results are “somber and sobering,” said NWEA researcher Karyn Lewis. “Whatever we’re doing, it’s not enough,” she said. “The magnitude of the crisis is out of alignment with the scope and scale of the response and we need to do more.”&nbsp;</p><p>Since the onset of the COVID pandemic, NWEA, which develops and sells tests to schools, has been measuring students’ progress on math and reading exams in grades three through eight. By the spring of 2021 — according to <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/7/28/22596904/pandemic-covid-school-learning-loss-nwea-mckinsey">NWEA</a> and a <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/24/23417139/naep-test-scores-pandemic-school-reopening">string</a> of other tests — the typical student was far behind where they would normally be. Test score gaps by race and family income, already yawning, had grown in many cases. This coincided with dramatic disruptions outside and inside schools, including extended virtual instruction. Students were learning during that time — but much more slowly than usual.</p><p>By the end of the 2021-22 school year, NWEA offered some <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/7/19/23269210/learning-loss-recovery-data-nwea-pandemic">reason for optimism</a>. Gaps were still there, but students in many grades had started to slowly make up ground. Learning during the school year was back to normal, perhaps even a bit better than normal. State tests also <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w31113">indicated</a> that students were starting to catch up.</p><p>But NWEA’s results from the most recent school year are more pessimistic. For reasons that aren’t clear, progress stalled out, even reversed. In most grades and subjects, students actually learned at a slightly slower rate than usual. Growth in middle school reading was particularly sluggish.&nbsp;</p><p>In no grade or subject was there evidence of substantial catch-up this year. Instead, the learning gap this spring was not much different than in the spring of 2021, according to NWEA. Students of all types remain behind, but NWEA shows that Black and Hispanic students have been hurt somewhat more than white and Asian American students.</p><p>“This is not what we were hoping to see and it’s not the message we want to be sharing at this time,” said Lewis. “But the data are what they are.”</p><p>Frustratingly, though, the data does not come with a clear explanation.</p><p>Schools were beset with challenges this past year: Chronic absenteeism remained at an <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/13/23403250/chronic-absenteeism-pandemic-attendance-quarantines">alarmingly high level</a> in many places. More teachers <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/27/23774375/teachers-turnover-attrition-quitting-morale-burnout-pandemic-crisis-covid">left the classroom</a> than usual. Educators <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/7/23628032/student-behavior-covid-school-classroom-survey">reported</a> difficulties managing students’ behavior and supporting their mental health.&nbsp;</p><p>But it’s not clear why there was more progress in the 2021-22 school year, which was also an unusually taxing year in many ways, according to teachers. Lewis said this was puzzling, but speculated that an initial burst of motivation upon returning to school buildings had fizzled.</p><p>Learning loss recovery efforts have also run into hurdles. Tutoring has <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/10/23629236/learning-loss-tutoring-students-pandemic-funds-covid">reached only</a> a small subset of students. Few districts <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/3/23/22992779/learning-loss-school-extended-day-year">have extended</a> the school day or year to guarantee all students more learning time.&nbsp;</p><p>But NWEA researchers cautioned that their data cannot speak directly to the effectiveness or particular recovery efforts or to the federal <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/2/3/22916590/schools-federal-covid-relief-stimulus-spending-tracking">COVID relief money</a> more generally. “We have no access to the counterfactual of what life would be like right now absent those funds — I think it would be much more dire,” said Lewis.</p><p>It’s also possible that some combination of out-of-school factors may be driving trends in student learning. Researchers have long <a href="https://www.educationnext.org/how-family-background-influences-student-achievement/">noted</a> that a complex array of variables outside of schools’ control matters a great deal for student learning.</p><p>What the NWEA study does suggest is that students are not on track to catch up to where they would have been if not for the pandemic. Lewis says the takeaway is that policymakers and schools simply aren’t doing enough. “If you give someone half a Tylenol for a migraine and expect them to feel better, that’s just not reality,” she said.</p><p>NWEA’s analysis is based on data from millions of students in thousands of public schools. Outcomes may not be representative of all students or schools, though, since the exam’s administration is voluntary.&nbsp;</p><p>NWEA researchers say other data would be helpful to confirm the results. That could come soon: State test results from this year are <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/29/23778700/tennessee-tcap-tnready-statewide-2023-test-scores-pandemic">beginning</a> to emerge and other testing companies will be releasing their own data.</p><p><em>Matt Barnum is a national reporter covering education policy, politics, and research. Contact him at mbarnum@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/11/23787212/nwea-learning-loss-academic-recovery-testing-data-covid/Matt BarnumChristina Veiga / Chalkbeat2023-07-07T21:39:17+00:002023-07-07T21:39:17+00:00<p>There are three pies and four monsters. How much pie will each monster eat?</p><p>That was the math question before five soon-to-be fifth graders earlier this week at Summer Connections, Denver Public Schools’ full-day summer program for elementary students.</p><p>With dry erase markers and personal white boards, the students sat in a loose semicircle on the floor of a classroom at Joe Shoemaker elementary school, puzzling out the answer. A student named Gael was the first to solve it.</p><p>“Gael says three-quarters,” the teacher said. “Why, Gael?”</p><p>Smaller class sizes, a mix of academics and fun, and acceleration instead of remediation — meaning incoming fifth graders do fifth grade work instead of reviewing fourth grade skills — are the hallmarks of Summer Connections, which is now in its second year and serving about 1,860 elementary school students.&nbsp;</p><p>But it’s hard to understand whether the program, which is <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/8/23/22638493/denver-public-schools-federal-esser-school-funding">funded by federal COVID relief dollars</a> and meant to help students catch up on lost learning, is having the intended effect.&nbsp;</p><p>Initial data comparing the spring and fall reading scores of first through third graders who had <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/6/15/23169822/denver-public-schools-expanded-summer-connections-esser-funding">attended Summer Connections last year</a> showed they did not experience “summer slide,” or the loss of academic skills. That was good news, given that the same data showed that students who did not attend Summer Connections did experience summer slide in reading.</p><p>But a more detailed analysis showed no difference in reading scores between the two groups. That analysis, which matched Summer Connections students with non-Summer Connections students who were similar demographically and academically, found the two groups “had statistically identical average fall test scores,” according to a district memo.</p><p>A pre-pandemic <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2019/6/27/21108399/inside-denver-s-attempt-to-slow-summer-slide-for-english-language-learners-and-struggling-readers">half-day summer program called Summer Academy</a> had the same outcome.</p><p>In an interview, Angelin Thompson, the director of extended academic learning for DPS, pointed out that the more detailed analysis was also narrower. It only looked at students who took one particular reading test, Istation English, which was about half of Summer Connections students.</p><p>DPS researchers highlighted other caveats too, including that comparing Summer Connections students to non-Summer Connections students is imperfect. Unlike in medical studies where one group is given a placebo and the other is given a drug, there is no placebo in this comparison. The students who did not attend Summer Connections could have spent their summer playing and never picking up a book or with a private reading tutor.</p><p>And while Summer Connections focused on math and science in addition to reading, there were no fall tests in the other subjects to measure whether students made progress.</p><p>For her part, Thompson is focusing on the broader analysis that showed Summer Connections students didn’t experience summer slide. It could be a key piece of data as DPS leaders decide whether to keep the program, which is costing nearly $4 million to run this summer, when the federal stimulus dollars, known as ESSER, dry up next year.</p><p>“I’m hoping we will make the case that this program is so beneficial and families appreciate it and kids are having fun,” Thompson said. “Once the ESSER dollars go away, DPS will have to make hard choices on what we continue to fund and what we don’t.”</p><h2>Some said the day was too long, while others asked for more</h2><p>Summer Connections debuted last summer as a super-size version of the half-day Summer Academy. Summer Connections was almost twice as long at six weeks instead of 3½ weeks. It offered a full day of academics instead of a half day, and it was open to all elementary students, not just those struggling with reading or learning English.</p><p>This year’s program is similar, with a few tweaks based on lessons learned. Summer Connections is five weeks this year instead of six, a compromise between parents and teachers who said six weeks was too long and research that says longer is better, Thompson said.</p><p>It’s still a full day, though, despite some concern from teachers. In a survey of last year’s Summer Connections teachers, 54% who said they wouldn’t return this summer cited “day too long” as the reason. “The full days were extremely long,” one wrote, according to a district slide presentation summarizing the survey results.</p><p>“Kids were having a rough time and often didn’t attend much,” another wrote.&nbsp;</p><p>Parents were split on the issue, with some asking in the survey for a half-day option and others asking for more coverage, including child care in the mornings before 9 a.m.</p><p>One parent wrote that the hours were “very working parent friendly.”</p><p>Thompson, who is newly in charge of the program this year, said DPS kept the full day because parents and students wanted it, and to fit in all the fun activities, including gym and computer science classes, Lego challenges, and a new field trip to the Denver Aquarium. To address teachers’ concerns, Summer Connections added more student-free time during the day for teachers to prep their lessons.</p><p>Thompson also hired more special education teachers and paraprofessionals to address another issue: a perceived lack of support for students with disabilities last summer. Some teachers said they didn’t know until the first day of the program which students had special education plans, and some parents said teachers didn’t follow their children’s plans.</p><p>Special education has been tricky. Students with disabilities are overrepresented at Summer Connections, but the program is not specifically designed for them.&nbsp;</p><p>Last year, 22% of the roughly 2,000 Summer Connections students had a special education plan, which is twice the district rate. Some students with disabilities are offered a different summer program called “extended school year,” which is tailored to their needs. But it’s only a half-day program, and Thompson said some families opted for the full-day Summer Connections instead, despite attempts to explain that the other program has more resources.</p><p>“At Summer Connections, we don’t turn away anyone for any reason,” Thompson said. “If you register your kid when there’s available space, that’s it.”</p><p>This year, only one of the 10 schools hosting Summer Connections — Lowry Elementary — had a wait list. At all of the other schools, all students who wanted to attend got in.</p><h2>Friendships and social growth were a bright spot</h2><p>Even if the academic results from last year’s Summer Connections program were complicated, the survey results revealed another bright spot: fun and friendships.</p><p>Almost all of the students surveyed said they made friends, and 31% said it was their favorite part of the program. (The first runner-up? Recess.)&nbsp;</p><p>“That I made new friends and I also learned how to multiply two digits and one digits together,” one student wrote in response to what they liked about Summer Connections.</p><p>Teachers also cited students’ social growth as a success of the program, and 96% of parents said it helped their child be more socially prepared for the next school year.&nbsp;</p><p>“I think it has been a very interesting social experience for students,” one teacher wrote. “Very few students knew each other beforehand so it was amazing to see how they created friendships in such a short amount of time. I hope that stays with our students and empowers them to create friendships wherever they go in life.”</p><p>That social success was evident on the playground during recess at Joe Shoemaker elementary school this week. A clump of fifth grade girls wandered the soccer field chatting while third graders chased each other up the climbing mountain and across plastic toadstools.&nbsp;</p><p>A big group of boys played a fast-paced game of basketball as a recess monitor shouted, “Pass it! Shoot it! Yes, that’s it!” Girls dangled off the rope jungle gym, their hair floating free.</p><p>Not a single student sat alone.</p><p><em>Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at </em><a href="mailto:masmar@chalkbeat.org"><em>masmar@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/7/7/23787550/denver-summer-school-summer-connections-esser-funding-academic-results/Melanie Asmar2023-07-05T11:00:00+00:002023-07-05T11:00:00+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/national"><em>Chalkbeat’s free weekly newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with how education is changing across the U.S. </em></p><p>In the small world of education research, the Stanford-based institute CREDO is a big name.</p><p>The organization has produced a series of much-cited, oft-debated studies on charter school performance since <a href="https://credo.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/multiple_choice_credo.pdf">2009</a>.</p><p>Its latest <a href="https://ncss3.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Credo-NCSS3-Report.pdf">research</a>, released in June, concluded that charter schools outperform district schools on both reading and math exams. The results have drawn significant attention: The Wall Street Journal editorial board, for instance <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/stanford-credo-charter-schools-study-student-performance-traditional-schools-education-math-reading-1d416fe5">claimed</a> the findings&nbsp;are “unequivocal” and show that charter schools are “blowing away their traditional school competition in student performance.”&nbsp;</p><p>The study is likely to be a key data point for years to come in continued policy debates over charter schools. But are the results as conclusive as the Journal and others have suggested? Not quite.</p><p>The research provides credible evidence that charter schools now have a test-score edge over district schools, although the advantage is small. But CREDO’s methods — which other researchers say have significant limitations — mean the conclusions should be viewed with some caution. Moreover, CREDO’s description of “gap-busting” charter schools may be widely misinterpreted.</p><h2>CREDO: Charter schools have small performance edge</h2><p>CREDO researchers draw on a vast swath of data across 29 states plus Washington D.C. to compare students’ academic growth in charter and district schools from the school years 2014-15 to 2018-19. CREDO concludes that achievement growth is, on average, higher in charter schools.&nbsp;</p><p>How much higher? Charter schools add 16 days of learning in reading and six days in math, CREDO <a href="https://ncss3.stanford.edu/student-results/multi-state-results/">says</a>. This “days of learning” metric is <a href="https://www.rand.org/blog/2019/07/research-rigor-is-undermined-by-translating-into-years.html">controversial</a> among researchers, though, and hard to interpret.</p><p>Here’s another way of thinking about the same results: CREDO found that attending a charter school for one year would raise the average student’s math scores from the 50th percentile to the 50.4 percentile and reading scores to the 51st percentile. By conventional research <a href="https://scholar.harvard.edu/sites/scholar.harvard.edu/files/mkraft/files/kraft_2019_effect_sizes.pdf">standards</a> and common sense, these impacts are small.</p><p>“Generally, those aren’t seen as big effects,” said Ron Zimmer, a professor at the University of Kentucky who has studied charter schools. “They’re modest.”</p><p>That said, moving the needle on educational achievement even slightly is <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0013189X231155154">challenging</a>, and these effects apply across a large swath of students who attended charter schools.</p><h2>The charter effect varies widely across the U.S. </h2><p>Generally, charter schools in the Northeast, including New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, posted larger test scores gains, according to CREDO. Charter networks outperformed stand-alone schools. Some of these networks improved test scores quite substantially, which is consistent with prior research looking at so-called “no excuses” charter schools, such as <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2019/9/26/21108982/kipp-charter-schools-are-getting-more-students-to-college-but-it-s-not-clear-yet-whether-more-are-ge">KIPP</a>.</p><p>Overall, Black, Hispanic, and low-income students seemed to <a href="https://ncss3.stanford.edu/student-results/multi-state-results/">benefit</a> more from attending a charter school. Here, the size of improvement might be described as small to moderate.</p><p>On the other hand, virtual charter schools had large negative effects, according to CREDO. Notably, since the pandemic these schools have <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/11/23/23475500/national-charter-school-enrollment-flat-pandemic-report">expanded</a> substantially. (CREDO’s data did not include any post-pandemic years.) Students with disabilities also appeared to perform worse in charter schools than in district schools.&nbsp;</p><h2>CREDO’s methods come with important caveats</h2><p>CREDO reaches its conclusions by matching charter school students with one or more “virtual twins”<strong> </strong>from a nearby district school. The “twins” are other students who have a similar set of characteristics, including test scores and free-or-reduced price lunch status (a proxy for family income). Then the researchers compare test score growth across millions of students in charter schools versus their virtual twins in district schools.</p><p>CREDO’s methods are a serious attempt to understand the effects of charter schools, but this strategy has limitations that are well-known among researchers. The basic problem is that the “virtual twin” approach does not guarantee a truly apples-to-apples comparison.</p><p>For instance, CREDO researchers compare two students who both have a disability — but those students may have very different types of disabilities. CREDO also cannot directly account for numerous other factors such as student or parent motivation that may lead to enrollment in charter schools.<strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><p>These methods may be particularly problematic for examining students in unusual situations, such as those who opt for virtual schools because of personal challenges like bullying or illness. (Another problem is that CREDO has to exclude one in five charter students because they can’t find a suitable “virtual twin.” We don’t know if those students would shift the overall findings.)&nbsp;</p><p>Macke Raymond, the director of CREDO, says she is confident in the center’s findings but acknowledges that the methods are constrained by the data.</p><p>”There is no way with the amount of data that is available to researchers that we can measure every single possible dimension of all students and their backgrounds,” she said.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><h2>CREDO’s prior analysis suggests potential for small bias in results</h2><p>No research method is perfect, so it is common for researchers to subject their conclusions to a battery of statistical tests to confirm the results.</p><p>CREDO did not do this in its most recent study. Instead it features an&nbsp;<a href="https://credo.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ncss2013_technical_appendix.pdf">appendix</a>&nbsp;from a 2013 study that compared findings from its main “virtual twin” method to those from a different, commonly used statistical approach. CREDO showed that the results from these two methods were not far off from each other.</p><p>But they were not identical. The CREDO researchers found in 2013 that charter schools had slightly worse results under the alternative method — by about 12 days of learning in math, to use the study’s metric. Again, this difference was small, but a shift of 12 days of learning would be enough to flip the recent math results from slightly positive to slightly negative.</p><p>James L. Woodworth, a researcher at CREDO, acknowledged this point, but said the alternative method was not necessarily preferable to the main model. CREDO also points to analyses by&nbsp;<a href="https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20124019/pdf/20124019.pdf">other</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED574544.pdf">researchers</a>&nbsp;who have shown that its findings are fairly close to those of other methods. As for not doing further checks in the most recent study, Woodworth said, “We felt we had done our due diligence.”</p><p>Zimmer, the University of Kentucky researcher, says there is no perfect way to study the effects of charter schools and that CREDO’s approach is defensible. But he said the study would have benefitted from additional tests to support its results.</p><p>“It sure would be nice to say, here’s our model and here’s what we’re relying on, and we also checked it in other ways to see if it came to similar substantive conclusions,” he said.</p><h2>CREDO’s description of ‘gap-busting’ schools may be misunderstood</h2><p>One particularly evocative conclusion from CREDO’s latest study is its description of “gap-busting” or “gap-closing” charter schools. “These ‘gap-busting schools’ show that disparate student outcomes are not a foregone conclusion: people and resources can be organized to eliminate these disparities,” CREDO researchers write. “The fact that thousands of schools have done so removes any doubt.”</p><p>Typically when people talk about the “achievement gap,” they mean disparities in absolute levels of performance between, for instance, low-income and more affluent students. But that’s not how CREDO defines these gaps.&nbsp;</p><p>CREDO considers a “gap-busting” school one with overall achievement above the state average and where the historically disadvantaged students make similar levels of <em>growth</em> as more advantaged students in the same school.&nbsp;</p><p>A school could meet this definition without closing gaps in student outcomes, though. Research has long <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/inequalities-at-the-starting-gate-cognitive-and-noncognitive-gaps-in-the-2010-2011-kindergarten-class/">shown</a> that students from low-income families, on average, enter school with lower achievement levels compared to better-off peers. That means that similar rates of growth would not eliminate disparities in performance. CREDO does not examine whether actual gaps in overall achievement had closed in the schools it defines as “gap-busting.”</p><p>“A lot of those schools where we’re not seeing a growth gap, they’re still going to have an achievement gap,” said Woodworth.</p><p><em>Matt Barnum is a national reporter covering education policy, politics, and research. Contact him at mbarnum@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/5/23780111/charter-schools-credo-research-performance-test-scores/Matt Barnum2023-06-29T19:00:00+00:002023-06-29T19:00:00+00:00<p>Tennessee’s third set of test scores from the pandemic era improved again across all core subjects and grades, even exceeding pre-pandemic proficiency rates in English language arts and social studies.</p><p>State-level results released Thursday showed an overall increase in proficiency since <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/6/14/23167541/tennessee-testing-tcap-scores-state-assessments-covid-english-language-learners-achievement-gap">last year</a> for public school students, and a surge since <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2021/8/2/22605300/tennessee-pandemic-student-tcap-scores-decline-covid">2021,</a> when the first test scores from the pandemic period declined dramatically across the nation.</p><p>But the performance of historically underserved students — including children with disabilities, those from low-income families, and students of color — still lags. Those groups of students, who already trailed their peers before disruptions to schooling began in 2020, also spent the longest time learning remotely during the public health emergency caused by COVID-19.</p><p>The latest scores continue the state’s upward trend of pandemic recovery, based on standardized tests under the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, also known as TCAP.&nbsp;</p><p>The academic snapshot suggests that Tennessee’s early investments in summer learning camps and intensive tutoring are paying off to counter three straight years of COVID-related disruptions.</p><p>Gov. Bill Lee called the results “encouraging,” while interim Education Commissioner Sam Pearcy praised educators, students, and their families for their hard work.</p><p>“These gains signal that we’re focused on the right work to advance student learning,” Pearcy told reporters during a morning call. “And as a result of that, we know that we will all continue to keep our foot on the gas to keep this momentum rolling.”</p><p>Beginning in the third grade, Tennessee students take TCAPs in four core subjects. This year’s students exceeded pre-pandemic levels in English language arts and social studies, while improving in math and science.</p><p><a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/22/23733132/tennessee-tcap-third-grade-reading-proficiency-retention-scores">As previously reported,</a> Tennessee’s third-grade proficiency rate jumped by over 4 percentage points to more than 40% on tests given this spring. Many of the other 60% have to participate in learning intervention programs to avoid being held back a year under a new state law.</p><p>Results for historically underserved student groups reflected both good and bad news.</p><p>The good news: Improvement for students of color, children from low-income families, those with disabilities, and those learning to speak English mostly paralleled the gains of their more affluent, white, or nondisabled peers.</p><p>The bad news: Tennessee isn’t closing those persistent gaps. Our analysis below focused on overall performance in English language arts.</p><p>The statewide data is available online by clicking “2023 State Assessment” on a new dashboard of the <a href="https://tdepublicschools.ondemand.sas.com/state/assessment">Tennessee Report Card</a>.</p><p>District-level results, which are being reviewed by district leaders, are scheduled to be released in July.</p><p>And for the first time under a <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/24/23321095/tennessee-school-letter-grades-delayed-again">long-delayed change to the state’s accountability policies,</a> this year’s TCAP results will be used to help calculate A-to-F grades this fall for Tennessee’s 1,700-plus public schools. The state has deferred the new accountability measure for five years because of testing and data disruptions, most recently caused by the pandemic.</p><p><em>Editor’s note: This story has been updated with graphics and analysis.</em></p><p><em>Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at </em><a href="mailto:maldrich@chalkbeat.org"><em>maldrich@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>Kae Petrin is a data and graphics reporter for Chalkbeat. Contact Kae at </em><a href="mailto:kpetrin@chalkbeat.org"><em>kpetrin@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2023/6/29/23778700/tennessee-tcap-tnready-statewide-2023-test-scores-pandemic/Marta W. Aldrich, Kae Petrinkali9 / Getty Images2023-06-22T16:45:25+00:002023-06-22T16:45:25+00:00<p>How does the state determine whether schools are doing well or if they are struggling and need extra support?</p><p>Before the pandemic, state officials relied on standardized tests and high school Regents exams to figure out how well students were doing, along with other factors, such as graduation rates. But the public health crisis <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2021/10/14/22727188/new-york-state-tests-resume-as-normal-after-covid-disruption">paused state testing</a> and affected school performance metrics in other ways.&nbsp;</p><p>Now, education department officials are seeking a new, temporary evaluation system for the next two school years, with the hopes of creating something more permanent for the 2025-26 school year.&nbsp;</p><p>If a school is found to be struggling, it is required to <a href="https://www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/programs/accountability/accountability-fact-sheet-parents.pdf">develop an improvement plan</a> that must be approved by local and state officials. Schools that don’t make progress for five years could face state takeover or closure —&nbsp;but it’s a route that <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2019/1/16/21106571/new-york-is-about-to-release-a-new-list-of-struggling-schools-here-s-what-you-should-know">state officials rarely took</a> even before developing the current accountability system, which is meant to be less punitive for schools.&nbsp;</p><p>In the short term, over the next two years, state officials want to exclude certain science and social studies exams, as well as measures for student growth and college and career readiness, when deciding which schools need improvement. These changes are necessary, officials say, because schools are still missing a trove of data, such as enough student participation in state tests, because of the pandemic.</p><p>Already, the conversation is sparking some controversy. Some groups focused on education reform believe the move represents a step backward just as schools need more help as they recover from the pandemic. Other observers believe the state’s proposed plan is reasonable.</p><p>Ultimately, the federal government must sign off on these proposed changes, since the state’s accountability system is required by federal law and is written into New York’s federally required Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, plan.</p><p>“They’re doing a decent job of balancing what’s of interest in the state and the federal ESSA requirements, and incorporating all the instability and uncertainty that came with the slowdown of testing during the pandemic,” said Aaron Pallas, a professor at Teachers College and an expert in testing.</p><p>But Education-Trust New York, an advocacy organization focused on equity issues, worried that several of the proposed changes could mean masking “bright spots and disparities,” according to their written public feedback to the state.</p><p>“I think these next two school years are incredibly important for kids coming out of the pandemic,” said Jeff Smink, the group’s deputy director, in an interview with Chalkbeat. “We have to both give them all the support they need but also hold them to high standards, and I just don’t feel like we’re doing that right now.”</p><h2>What metrics would still be used?</h2><p>Under the state’s proposal, schools will still be measured on English language proficiency (based on a state language exam for English learners), graduation rates, how well students are doing in core subjects based on Regents and state test scores, and chronic absenteeism. In New York City, chronic absenteeism has been a pressing issue, with 41% of students last school year absent for at least 10 school days.</p><h2>What do state officials want to ditch (for now)?</h2><p>The state wants to put a pause on measuring academic progress based on certain goals for student scores on state English and math tests.&nbsp;</p><p>State officials say they want to update these goals — first set in the 2017-18 school year — before they use them to determine whether schools are struggling.</p><p>The state’s proposed plan would also pause the use of “Measures of Interim Progress,” which more broadly measures whether schools are meeting goals for academics and other things, like their graduation rates.&nbsp;</p><p>For elementary and middle schools, officials want to pause how they’ve been measuring student growth, largely because of the lack of testing data. Typically, they calculated student growth using three years of testing data, but the pandemic caused big disruptions: For example, <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2021/10/28/22750774/ny-state-english-math-test-results">just one in five New York City children took state exams</a> in the 2020-21 school year, when most children chose to learn from home.</p><p>For high schools, officials won’t consider college, career, and civic readiness metrics, which include advanced coursework or extra credentials in specialized jobs-based courses. That’s because the pandemic may have hampered students’ access to some of these programs or courses, officials said. They also worried that the pandemic’s impact on learning may have caused students to perform worse academically than they otherwise would have, such as&nbsp; on AP exams.</p><h2>What will the state do with data, even if it’s not being used to evaluate schools?</h2><p>State officials still plan to provide all of this data to schools for “informational purposes only” for the next two school years, they said.&nbsp;</p><h2>Why do state officials want to exclude elementary school science exams and high school social studies assessments?</h2><p>Science tests would be excluded because the state has changed who must take those exams. Traditionally, students in fourth and eighth grades take the state science test. However, <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/23/23654125/state-tests-new-york-reading-math-scores-pandemic-learning-loss">only eighth graders took the test this school year,</a> as the state prepares to offer the exam next year to fifth graders instead of fourth graders. That means they won’t be able to compare results equitably across elementary and middle schools that have different grade configurations.</p><p>Fifth graders will take the exam next spring. Asked why those scores won’t be taken into account for the 2024-25 school year, a spokesperson said that it allows districts to have “consistency and predictability” for now, as they attempt to rebuild the accountability system.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>While calling it a “logical” move, Ed-Trust argued that excluding science tests “undermines the importance of science education” and worried schools will have less reason to focus on it. The organization suggested that the state should instead work with local districts to “ensure a smooth transition” to the new science assessments without entirely removing it as one way to measure student performance.&nbsp;</p><p>On the high school level, officials want to pause using social studies tests because of multiple exam cancellations in recent years. The state looks at cohorts of students, such as the graduating class of 2023, when considering how they performed on these tests, namely the Regents exams for Global History and Geography and U.S. History and Government.&nbsp;</p><p>But students who will graduate this year couldn’t take Regents exams in 2021, when they were in 10th grade, because of the pandemic. U.S. History and Government exams were also canceled last year, when these students were juniors, in the wake of a mass shooting in Buffalo, with the state education department claiming there was material on the exam that <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/24/23139801/ny-history-regents-canceled-buffalo-shooting">could “compound student trauma.”</a>&nbsp;</p><p>State officials have emphasized that this plan “in no way diminishes” the importance of science or social studies instruction.&nbsp;</p><h2>How will schools be labeled if they need support?</h2><p>The lowest performing schools are known as schools in need of Comprehensive Support and Improvement, or CSI. But the state won’t list new CSI schools until the 2025-26 school year because they identified a group of such schools this year <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/3/23386248/ny-state-officials-seek-to-shift-the-narrative-around-struggling-schools">under a tweaked system</a>, and that process only happens every three years, officials said.&nbsp;</p><p>A total of 139 New York City schools were identified this year as in need of some level of improvement, with 83% of them listed as CSI schools, according to state data.&nbsp;</p><p>However, New York will identify schools for Targeted Support and Intervention, or TSI, next year, which must happen annually per federal law. Those are schools that aren’t meeting goals set for specific student groups, such as by race, economic status, and those with disabilities.&nbsp;</p><p>In one recent — and perhaps confusing — change, schools that are meeting or exceeding their goals are no longer called “Schools in Good Standing”&nbsp;and instead are now labeled by the state as schools identified for Local Support and Improvement, or LSI.</p><h2>What will happen for the 2025-26 school year?</h2><p>State officials plan to revamp the accountability system for the 2025-26 school year after collecting feedback from the public. The new plan will also incorporate any changes to the state’s graduation requirements, which could come as soon as the end of this year. The education department is rethinking the role of Regents exams in graduation, among other considerations.&nbsp;</p><p>Pallas said that the plan for the 2025-26 school year and beyond would still have to meet federal ESSA requirements and earn the buy-in of school district leaders —&nbsp;meaning that it likely won’t be “a dramatic break from the past.”&nbsp;</p><p>“It’s gotta be something that feels progressive but also comfortable,” Pallas said.</p><p><em>Thomas Wilburn contributed.</em></p><p><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/authors/reema-amin"><em>Reema Amin</em></a><em>&nbsp;is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2023/6/22/23769085/ny-school-accountability-struggling-schools-state-tests-academics-growth/Reema Amin2023-06-21T04:01:00+00:002023-06-21T04:01:00+00:00<p>American 13-year-olds remain far behind in key math and reading skills, according to the <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/ltt/2023/">latest data</a> from a long-running national test.</p><p>Scores were substantially lower in the fall of 2022 compared to the last time the test was administered three years earlier. Making matters worse, even before the pandemic hit, 13-year-olds had <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/10/14/22725293/test-scores-naep-pandemic-high-low-achievers">lost ground</a> on the National Assessment of Educational Progress or NAEP.</p><p>That adds up to a striking collapse in achievement scores since 2012, after decades of progress in math and modest gains in reading. In reading, 13-year-olds scored about the same as those who took the test in 1971, when it was first administered. Math scores were now comparable to those in 1992.</p><p>The data is just the latest <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/24/23417139/naep-test-scores-pandemic-school-reopening">evidence</a> that the pandemic and school closures exacted a steep toll on student learning. These scores do not shed light on whether schools have made any progress in closing these learning gaps, since they offer only a snapshot in time. Other analyses <a href="https://www.nwea.org/uploads/2022/12/CSSP-Brief_Progress-toward-pandemic-recovery_DEC22_Final.pdf">show</a> <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w31113">that</a> <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/7/19/23269210/learning-loss-recovery-data-nwea-pandemic">students</a> have made up some of what they have lost. Regardless, the new data suggest that most students remain far back from where they would normally be if not for the pandemic.</p><p>“The learning disruption further undermined the development of basic skills that students need at this age,” said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the arm of the U.S. Department of Education that administers the exam. “This is a huge scale of challenge that faces the nation today.”&nbsp;</p><p>Tuesday’s <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/ltt/2023/">results</a> come from NAEP’s long-term trend exam, which has tested students’ basic skills since the 1970s. Between October and December of last year, the test was given to a representative sample of 13-year-old students, who are typically in seventh or eighth grade.&nbsp;</p><p>These students scored nine points worse in math and four points worse in reading, compared to 13-year-olds in 2020. That year marked a notable decline compared to 2012, the high point of scores on both tests.&nbsp;</p><p>For instance, in 2012, 85% of 13-year-olds had <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ltt/math-descriptions.aspx">demonstrated</a> skills in basic problem solving and math operations, like multiplication. In 2020, that number fell to 79% and now is at 71%.</p><p>The declines affected large swaths of students, but Black 13-year-olds saw particularly steep drops in both subjects. The gap between the lowest- and highest-performing students also widened — continuing a <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/10/14/22725293/test-scores-naep-pandemic-high-low-achievers">pre-pandemic trend</a> that has alarmed and befuddled experts. (Unlike the main NAEP exam, these results are not broken down by state or city.)</p><p>In a survey accompanying the test, students reported being absent from school far more frequently and reading for pleasure less often.</p><p>The test score results align with a variety of other assessments, including NAEP’s long term trend tests of <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/9/1/23331852/math-reading-scores-drop-naep-pandemic">9-year-olds</a> and the <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/24/23417139/naep-test-scores-pandemic-school-reopening">main NAEP</a> given to fourth and eighth graders. This and other data have told a consistent story:</p><ul><li>Since the pandemic, students <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/7/19/23269210/learning-loss-recovery-data-nwea-pandemic">have learned</a> at a slower rate than usual, creating a gap compared to their expected trajectory, dubbed by many as “learning loss.”</li><li>This learning loss has <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/28/23429271/learning-loss-remote-learning-high-poverty-schools-harvard-stanford-research">applied</a> <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/24/23417139/naep-test-scores-pandemic-school-reopening">across</a> student groups, states, and school types — but in general, historically disadvantaged students <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/7/19/23269210/learning-loss-recovery-data-nwea-pandemic">have</a> <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/28/23429271/learning-loss-remote-learning-high-poverty-schools-harvard-stanford-research">fallen</a> further behind.</li><li>Students in schools that spent more time in remote learning typically have <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/28/23429271/learning-loss-remote-learning-high-poverty-schools-harvard-stanford-research">lost</a> <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aeri.20210748">more</a> ground. It’s <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/12/23721806/learning-loss-pandemic-community-district-student-homes-harvard-stanford-johns-hopkins-dartmouth">not clear</a> <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w31113">what</a> other factors explain why some schools have done better or worse, though.</li></ul><p>“It’s really a body of evidence that is setting up an urgency for the need for policymakers, for researchers to figure out what we need to do moving forward,” said Mark Miller, an eighth grade math teacher and a former member of the board that oversees NAEP.</p><p>Standardized tests are only one measure of academic achievement, but these scores matter because they are predictive of students’ — and the country’s — <a href="https://www.educationnext.org/education-and-economic-growth/">success</a>. One recent study found that state <a href="https://cepr.harvard.edu/sites/hwpi.harvard.edu/files/cepr/files/long_term_outcomes_11.18.pdf?m=1668789278">scores</a> on a separate NAEP eighth-grade math test predicted high school graduation, adult income, and incarceration rates.</p><p>Through the fall of last year, students appear to have recovered some — but not nearly all — of the lost ground. An <a href="https://www.nwea.org/uploads/2022/12/CSSP-Brief_Progress-toward-pandemic-recovery_DEC22_Final.pdf">analysis</a> by NWEA, a testing company, tracked students’ progress through the beginning of this school year. The group found that students had made up between 10% and 40% of learning loss depending on the grade and subject. (Students in eighth grade, which most closely corresponds to the 13-year-olds tested by NAEP, were on the lower end of this range.) A separate <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w31113">study</a> using state tests from last year found similar results.&nbsp;</p><p>“Even with continued rebounding, student achievement remains lower than in a typical year and full recovery is likely still several years away,” wrote NWEA researchers.</p><p>Supported by <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/2/3/22916590/schools-federal-covid-relief-stimulus-spending-tracking">tens of billions of dollars</a> in federal money, schools have launched a variety of catch-up strategies, including summer school, small-group tutoring, and hiring more teachers and other staff. Although there has been evidence of modest recovery, researchers say it’s <a href="https://caldercenter.org/publications/challenges-implementing-academic-covid-recovery-interventions-evidence-road-recovery">not yet clear</a> how successful particular approaches have been. “There is nothing in this data that tells us what is working,” said Carr, referring to the recent results.</p><p>A recent <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/10/23629236/learning-loss-tutoring-students-pandemic-funds-covid">Chalkbeat analysis</a> found that many large districts’ tutoring programs have reached less than 10% of students. A popular online tutoring <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/11/17/23464110/paper-on-demand-online-tutoring-platforms-services-schools-students-challenges">program</a> has also had low uptake. Adding extra time to the typical school day or year <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/3/23/22992779/learning-loss-school-extended-day-year">has been rare</a>, and some experts fear that optional programming will not reach students most in need of help. Still, the NWEA analysis found that students lost less-than-usual academic ground in the summer of 2022, which could be due to extra summer programming.</p><p>Miller, who teaches in Colorado Springs, Colorado, said his school has used COVID relief money to ensure all students now have a computer or tablet, to offer free summer credit recovery, and to provide after-school tutoring. He’s seen some of his students improve from the after-school help through the extra time and practice. “If they get it in the morning of my class and the afternoon again, it’s beneficial,” he said.</p><p>In his own class this year, Miller intentionally focused on building relationships to get students bought into his lessons. He says it paid off: “I was able to get kids to engage in mathematics more so, not because they loved the math, but because we had built a trusting relationship where they were willing to work and put in some extra effort and time for me.”</p><p><em>Matt Barnum is a national reporter covering education policy, politics, and research. Contact him at mbarnum@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/21/23767632/naep-math-reading-learning-loss-covid-long-term-trend/Matt Barnum2023-06-17T00:26:37+00:002023-06-17T00:26:37+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter</em></a><em> to keep up with NYC’s public schools. </em></p><p>Candidates endorsed by a polarizing group that advocates for screened school admissions won the majority of seats on about half a dozen parent councils this year, according to <a href="https://apps.schools.nyc/CECProfiles">election results</a> released Friday by the New York City education department.</p><p>Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education, <a href="https://placenyc.org/">or PLACE,</a> endorsed 147 candidates across the city for local district council seats, with 115 of them winning their races. The group’s preferred candidates will make up nearly 40% of the Community Education Council members across the five boroughs, according to a Chalkbeat analysis.</p><p>Established in 2019, PLACE supports the status quo when it comes to academic screening policies that have resulted in one of the nation’s most segregated school systems. That includes keeping the Specialized High School Admissions Test, or SHSAT, and expanding gifted and talented programs. The group generally opposes lottery-based admissions and paring back screened admissions to the city’s middle and high schools.</p><p>The Community Education Councils, or CECs, have the power to approve or reject school rezoning plans, pass resolutions about various school-related issues, and work with district superintendents. The 32 councils, which each have 10 elected members and two appointed by the local borough president, hold monthly public meetings.</p><p>There are also citywide councils for high school students, English learners, students with disabilities, and those enrolled in the city’s District 75 programs, which serve children with the most challenging disabilities.&nbsp;</p><p>This was the second CEC election where voting was <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2021/4/30/22412836/community-education-council-election">open to parents citywide.</a> To many watching races across the city, this year’s elections seemed more divisive than ever, with some candidates localizing culture wars playing out across the nation. CEC 2 winner Maud Maron, who co-founded PLACE and was previously on the District 2 parent council, <a href="https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/4/28/23701606/education-council-elections-bring-national-clashes">told THE CITY</a>, “Land acknowledgements don’t teach anybody more math,” referring to lessons about Indigenous people who inhabited land before European colonialism.&nbsp;</p><p>With her victory Friday, Maron will again sit on a CEC that represents one of the most affluent swaths of Manhattan.&nbsp;</p><p>Some of PLACE’s ideas have found favor with schools Chancellor David Banks, <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/24/23140240/nyc-gifted-expansion-school-sites-2022-banks-adams">such as expanding gifted and talented seats.</a> The organization had Banks’ ear at the very start of his tenure, appearing <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/24/23421847/david-banks-schedule-nyc-school-chancellor">on his schedule last March.</a>&nbsp;</p><p>Some education advocates have grown concerned about PLACE’s influence, pointing to the views of some of their members, including comparing critical race theory, an academic framework about systemic racism, to Nazi ideology, as reported by THE CITY. Several candidates endorsed by the group <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/28/23702492/nyc-schools-community-education-council-elections">backed away from that support</a> during the election season.</p><p>PLACE wasn’t alone in endorsing candidates. A group called Parents for Middle School Equity, based in Brooklyn’s District 15 (which includes Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Red Hook, and part of Sunset Park), appears to be ideologically opposed to PLACE. The group’s interest is in preserving the district’s middle school integration plan. But its influence fell far below PLACE’s: Less than a quarter of its endorsed candidates won seats across the city, a Chalkbeat analysis found.</p><p>A few districts appeared to be PLACE strongholds: Every person elected to the CEC in Brooklyn’s District 20, which spans Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Borough Park, and part of Sunset Park, was endorsed by PLACE. All of the group’s preferred candidates also won seats on the CECs representing two large Queens districts — nine people in District 26 (which covers northeast Queens, including Bayside) and seven in District 28, where a controversial push to integrate its middle schools from Forest Hills to Jamaica was <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/13/23071666/school-colors-podcast-district-28-queens-mark-winston-griffith-max-freedman">derailed by the pandemic.&nbsp;</a></p><p>Still, the Equity group’s preferred candidates outnumbered PLACE’s endorsed candidates in a handful of districts, including East Harlem’s District 4, Harlem’s District 5, Williamsburg’s District 14, and District 15.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that District 26 includes northeast Queens, including Bayside. </em></p><p><em>Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.</em></p><p><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/authors/reema-amin"><em>Reema Amin</em></a><em>&nbsp;is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2023/6/16/23764178/community-education-council-election-place-integration-school-admissions-equity/Amy Zimmer, Reema Amin2023-06-15T20:46:13+00:002023-06-15T20:46:13+00:00<p>At a first-of-its-kind hearing Thursday, State Board of Education members expressed mixed opinions about whether Denver Public Schools rightly <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/10/23678386/innovation-zone-dissolve-kepner-grant-beacon-network-denver-schools-dps-marrero-school-board">dissolved one of its innovation zones</a>.</p><p>Leaders of Beacon Network Schools, as the zone is called, are fighting on multiple fronts to preserve their zone as the Denver school board and superintendent <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/16/23643898/denver-innovation-zones-schools-review-beacon-ndiz-northfield-confusion-reform">place innovation zones under more scrutiny</a>. The zone has filed a lawsuit and appealed to the State Board of Education using a new state law —&nbsp;but DPS doesn’t have to follow the State Board’s recommendations.&nbsp;</p><p>Some State Board members said Thursday that ambiguous academic data, strong support from parents and teachers, and inopportune timing — with DPS revoking the zone just as schools are recovering from the pandemic — mean that the Beacon innovation zone should be reinstated and allowed a few more years to show academic improvement.</p><p>“These just are not ordinary times,” said board member Angelika Schroeder, a Boulder Democrat, “and we need to be careful to make a pretty significant decision given the kind of support and success that Beacon has had.”</p><p>But other board members deferred to DPS’s decision to revoke the zone, arguing that the power to do so rests solely with the local school board. The State Board can review and discuss local board decisions on innovation zones, but it can’t overturn them.</p><p>“The law is so clearly unclear here,” said board member Karla Esser, a Lakewood Democrat. “The only thing that’s clear is that this is not in our purview.”</p><p>The Beacon appeal was the first test of <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/9/23064176/senate-bill-197-denver-innovation-zones-amendments-compromise">a state law passed last year</a> that allows the State Board to review innovation zone revocations by local school boards. Unlike in a charter school appeal, the State Board doesn’t take an up or down vote on the local board’s decision.&nbsp;</p><p>Instead, the State Board voted Thursday to draft a recommendation based on individual board members’ opinions, which varied widely. Even if the State Board members were united, their recommendation wouldn’t be binding.</p><p>That’s because the state law passed last year was a compromise. The <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/4/22/23037989/denver-public-schools-innovation-zones-colorado-bill-arbitration">first draft of the bill</a> would have allowed a neutral third party to review and override innovation zone revocation decisions. The final version of the bill watered down that provision to a review only.</p><p>At the State Board hearing Thursday, Beacon school leaders argued that revoking the zone silenced the voices of teachers and community members who support it. They also argued that DPS’s decision was based on flawed data from pandemic-era state tests.</p><p>“We have a district taking a drastic step that invalidates the votes of teachers and silences the voices of a community,” said Andy Ball, an attorney who represents Beacon, “and taking that step based on one pandemic-affected snapshot of student data.”</p><p>But DPS officials disagreed. Even taking the pandemic into account, they said that the student test scores at Kepner Beacon, one of two schools in the zone, were exceptionally low. They argued that the district could support the two schools better than the zone could.</p><p>“This is not part of a broader anti-innovation or anti-reform agenda,” said Grant Guyer, associate chief of strategic operations for DPS. “This is about maximizing supports to schools.”</p><p>The Denver school board <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/10/23678386/innovation-zone-dissolve-kepner-grant-beacon-network-denver-schools-dps-marrero-school-board">voted 5-2 on April 10 to revoke the Beacon zone</a>. Under the zone, the leaders of Kepner Beacon and Grant Beacon middle schools were overseen by a nonprofit board of directors and not by DPS. That gave the zones increased autonomy and budget flexibility — perks that innovation zone advocates hoped would improve student learning.</p><p>Revoking the zone returned Kepner and Grant to district control, though district officials said in court last week that they’ve taken minimal steps to reassume control of the schools.</p><p>Superintendent Alex Marrero had recommended revoking the zone for several reasons, including that the test scores at Kepner Beacon were too low. Only 21% of students met expectations in literacy on state tests last spring, while 6% met expectations in math.&nbsp;</p><p>State law says local school boards can revoke an innovation zone if students are “not improving at a sufficient rate” academically. The law doesn’t define “sufficient.”</p><p>Marrero also cited inadequate financial oversight by the Beacon zone board and concerns about the zone’s organizational health. In particular, he opposed the unique employment arrangement of the zone’s executive director, Alex Magaña. Although Magaña was a DPS employee, he answered to the zone board, not to DPS supervisors.&nbsp;</p><p>In addition to appealing to the State Board, the nonprofit organization that oversaw the zone, Beacon Network Schools, <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/3/23710754/beacon-network-injunction-lawsuit-denver-innovation-schools-marrero">sued DPS in Denver District Court, </a>seeking an injunction to stop the revocation. The court held a hearing in the case last week, but the judge has not yet ruled.</p><p><em>Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at </em><a href="mailto:masmar@chalkbeat.org"><em>masmar@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/6/15/23762704/beacon-innovation-zone-denver-schools-state-board-hearing-revocation/Melanie Asmar2023-06-15T16:14:05+00:002023-06-15T16:14:05+00:00<p>At the age of 16, Marowa, a Bangladeshi immigrant, entered New York City’s foster care system, after her parents had physically abused her for much of her life.&nbsp;</p><p>Two years and five foster homes later, Marowa fled to California to build a new life but returned to New York City by the age of 19, in search of stable housing and a familiar community. (Marowa said she does not have a legal last name.)</p><p>After she reluctantly re-entered foster care, a social worker asked Marowa if she knew that Administration for Children’s Services, or ACS, could help her pay for college and other expenses.&nbsp;</p><p>“I was just thinking about surviving,” Marowa said. “I wasn’t really thinking about college.”&nbsp;</p><p>Last week — five years after that conversation — Marowa graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Brooklyn College, with the help of the financial assistance that her social worker had described.&nbsp;</p><p>Marowa is one of 300 students who used the <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/4/23387840/nyc-mayor-eric-adams-college-tuition-funding-foster-care">College Choice program this year</a> to fund up to $15,000 of tuition, room and board, and $60 in daily stipends, according to ACS officials, who said that no eligible student who applied on time was turned away.&nbsp;</p><p>The program, announced in October, combined with other state and federal grants, covers all tuition and living expenses for these students. It was similar to other programs that preceded it when Marowa first entered college with some updates that aim to ease the&nbsp; burden on participants: College Choice doubles the daily student stipend and allows them to live on the same campus as where they go to school.&nbsp;</p><p>For the 2023-24 school year, the Adams administration has proposed keeping this $10 million initiative.</p><h2>A more stable future for students in foster care</h2><p>The program attempts to set up a stable future for students like Marowa, who might otherwise be unable to pay for college or incur student loan debt, even with federal and state grants. In New York City, the cost of higher education is not the only barrier: Last school year, 45% of students in foster care graduated from high school on time, compared with 84% of students not in foster care, according to state data. In 2019, before the pandemic and the loosening of certain graduation requirements, <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/assets/cidi/downloads/pdfs/Education_Outcomes_May19_2022.pdf">just one-quarter of youth in foster care graduated</a> on time.&nbsp;</p><p>The city’s <a href="https://www.fairfuturesny.org/">Fair Futures program</a>, which advocates pushed the city to create in recent years, attempts to improve those graduation rates by linking students in foster care ages 11 to 26 with academic, career, and life coaching.&nbsp;</p><p>Even children who make it to college can find it financially impossible to stay enrolled, said Jess Dannhauser, commissioner for ACS. Dannhauser, who previously oversaw foster care agency Graham Windam, said he’d hear about students who dropped out of college because they couldn’t afford pricey textbooks or even doing laundry regularly.&nbsp;</p><p>“The things that came up both were expensive, and it was hard to be nimble to meet all those needs,” Dannhauser said of students’ experiences. “And it sends a message that they don’t belong there.”</p><p>In order to be eligible for College Choice, young people must currently be in foster care, earn a minimum GPA of 2.0, and apply for financial aid grants, such as the federal Pell Grant and New York State’s Tuition Assistance Program, or TAP.</p><h2>Larger stipends and more places to live</h2><p>Before Marowa used College Choice this year, there was “The Dorm Project,” which used a total of about $7 million to provide housing and tuition help to about 200 students in foster care last year who attended CUNY schools. ACS also provided $31 daily stipends to college students in foster care.&nbsp;</p><figure><img src="https://www.chalkbeat.org/resizer/LINuPVzIPZhRksNv_LIiU7DRSC8=/1440x960/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/civicnewscompany/YXIETAZ7XJFGPNZADMKCQKRV7Q.jpg" alt="Marowa pictured on her graduation day at Brooklyn College." height="960" width="1440"/><figcaption>Marowa pictured on her graduation day at Brooklyn College.</figcaption></figure><p>College Choice ironed out a few wrinkles with the previous program, officials said. Unlike previous years, the program helps cover costs for students who attend any college, not just CUNY. Students also receive a $60 daily stipend —&nbsp;and will now receive that money for six months after graduation.&nbsp;</p><p>The old program provided year-round housing at certain CUNY dorms where the city had purchased space but not necessarily where students were attending school. In what felt like a particularly important change for children, College Choice allows them to live on the same campus where they’re enrolled.</p><p>“We heard from young people that they really wanted to live and go to school in the same place, that they wanted that choice, that they wanted to have the opportunity to go out of state,” said ACS Commissioner Jess Dannhauser in an interview. “And the College Choice program allows for that.”</p><p>The program is a positive start at helping students access college, but broadening the eligibility requirements would help many more students in need, said Chantal Hinds, a researcher focused on students in foster care at the Next100, a policy think tank based in New York City. Hinds noted that the program doesn’t benefit students who aren’t in foster care anymore but might still be struggling financially and mentally from their experience in the system.&nbsp;</p><p>She noted that Marowa could have been one of those teens had she not re-entered the foster care system after her time in California.&nbsp;</p><p>“If you’re in the foster system for a month or 12 years, you’re still impacted,” said Hinds, who was once an attorney for ACS. “There was still a significant portion of your life that was changed because of this experience.”&nbsp;</p><p>Marowa began receiving financial support through the old college aid programs and then switched over to College Choice this past school year, which meant her daily stipend doubled in size.&nbsp;</p><p>In college, Marowa changed majors twice before landing on English literature, which she fell in love with after being forced as a newcomer immigrant years ago to learn the language.</p><p>Marowa was one of the students who pushed ACS for better college assistance, and she continues to advocate on behalf of foster youth, both she and an ACS spokesperson said. She’s considering a teaching job offer, and has qualified for subsidized housing.</p><p>Once she becomes more financially stable, she’s hoping to fulfill a longtime dream: to become a foster mom.</p><p><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/authors/reema-amin"><em>Reema Amin</em></a><em>&nbsp;is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2023/6/15/23762089/ny-college-choice-foster-care-students-tuition-loans-debt/Reema Amin2023-06-14T21:08:59+00:002023-06-14T21:08:59+00:00<p>Denver Superintendent Alex Marrero doesn’t want a University of Colorado Denver researcher to access student data to study the effects of the previous decade’s education reform policies.&nbsp;</p><p>Parker Baxter, who directs the University of Colorado Denver’s Center for Education Policy Analysis, was the lead author of a study released last year that <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/13/23508146/denver-public-schools-reforms-study-university-of-colorado">found significant improvements in student test scores and graduation rates</a> during the time Denver Public Schools was most invested in education reform strategies.&nbsp;</p><p>Two critiques of the study were that it didn’t isolate the effects of particular strategies, such as closing schools with persistently low test scores or opening new charter schools, and that it didn’t fully account for changes in the student population of Denver, which grew by some 20,000 children during the same time period.&nbsp;</p><p>Baxter hopes to address both those concerns and provide better information about which school improvement strategies boosted student academic performance by using student-level data from Denver and 11 comparison districts. Federal student data privacy law allows for this type of research. Individual student data is anonymized and never reported publicly.</p><p>“Student-level data is the gold standard and allows for much better disentanglement of improvements due to reform and improvements due to changes in the student population,” Baxter said.</p><p>In a <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/co/cde/Board.nsf/files/CSHLDQ5235CC/$file/From%20the%20Desk%20of%20the%20Superintendent%20(1).pdf">May 26 letter to the State Board of Education</a>, Marrero said he has serious concerns about allowing Baxter access to Denver student data. Marrero, who was hired in 2021 by a school board largely opposed to education reform, said Baxter’s first study and his proposed new study ignore the downsides of reform, such as “the impact of school closure on communities, a focus on competition over collaboration and its impact on school staff, to name a few.”&nbsp;</p><p>The State Board of Education is set to vote on the request Thursday.&nbsp;</p><p>Colorado has strict rules around student data privacy and requires that the State Board of Education review and vote on requests to use data that includes personally identifiable information about students. Since 2016, when the policy was adopted, the State Board has approved nine out of 10 requests, according to Colorado Department of Education spokeswoman Dana Smith.</p><p>Smith said in an email that she believes this is the first time a school district has opposed the release of data. A 16-member panel made up of education department staff found the <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/co/cde/Board.nsf/files/CSHLEU526DB3/$file/SBE%20Memo%20CEPA%20Research%20Request_June%202023%20FINAL.pdf">study results would be useful to other school districts</a> considering any of the interventions used in Denver, as well as to the education department.&nbsp;</p><p>The decision ultimately rests with the State Board, Smith said.</p><p>Starting in the mid-2000s, Denver made it easier for families to exercise <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2020/1/2/21055572/school-choice-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work-in-colorado">school choice</a>, <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2017/9/14/21100896/the-numbers-behind-denver-s-portfolio-of-schools-more-than-half-are-charter-and-innovation-schools">expanded the number</a> of independent charter schools, and gave district-run schools more autonomy. The school board also <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2015/12/17/21103233/denver-public-schools-approves-new-policy-for-closing-struggling-schools-but-questions-remain#.WBLG75MrK8U">closed or replaced</a> schools with low test scores.</p><p>Whether those policies helped or hurt students and families is hotly debated. The current school board, <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/11/5/22766256/denver-election-results-2021-school-board-teachers-union">made up of members backed by the teachers union</a>, no longer closes district-run schools for low academic performance and is less supportive of charter schools. The board has <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2020/11/19/21578841/denver-vote-to-reunify-west-high-school">reunified West</a> and <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/3/23380989/montbello-high-school-denver-reopening-reunified-warriors-test-scores">Montbello high schools</a>, two schools that were split into multiple small schools during the reform era. The board recently <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/15/23724921/manual-high-school-denver-closure-honorary-diplomas-apology">gave honorary diplomas and an apology to students</a> who would have graduated from Manual High School had it not been closed in 2006.</p><p>Baxter said his first study was an attempt to bring data to that debate. That study concluded that Denver students got the equivalent of 12 to 12 ½ years of learning in the 11 years from the 2007-08 to 2018-19 school years and that Denver’s graduation rate also increased at a higher rate than it would have if the reforms hadn’t happened.</p><p>As of Wednesday afternoon, Denver Public Schools had not responded to a request for comment.</p><p>In his letter, Marrero said neither Baxter’s first study nor his proposed study considered other important outcomes, such as improving students’ social and emotional well-being. Nor would it consider the potential impact on student performance of <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2018/10/18/21105959/rising-test-scores-and-dwindling-trust-denver-s-tom-boasberg-leaves-a-complicated-legacy">consistent leadership</a>, outside grant money, or efforts to improve education for English learners during the study period.</p><p>Marrero wrote that it would be “more beneficial to conduct a comprehensive study that takes into account the many factors that have led to our improved student achievement.”</p><p>Baxter said all those topics are worthy of study. His proposed project could inform a larger review that includes other strategies and outcomes.&nbsp;At the same time, test scores and graduation rates form the basis of Colorado’s school accountability system and are appropriate to study.</p><p>Specifically, Baxter plans to study the effects of opening new schools, including charter schools, closing schools with persistently low test scores, and providing schools with school improvement grants for district-led turnaround efforts. He hopes to track individual students’ academic progress, dropout and graduation rates, and college enrollment starting four years before Denver held its first call for quality schools in 2008 and continuing through 2019.&nbsp;</p><p>Baxter said he is not assuming that every education reform intervention will turn out to have had a positive impact. Studies in other communities have <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2019/2/5/21106706/five-things-we-ve-learned-from-a-decade-of-research-on-school-closures">found mixed results from school closures</a>.</p><p>“We’re not setting out to prove anything,” Baxter said. “We are seeking answers to questions.”</p><p><em>Bureau Chief Erica Meltzer covers education policy and politics and oversees Chalkbeat Colorado’s education coverage. Contact Erica at </em><a href="mailto:emeltzer@chalkbeat.org"><em>emeltzer@chalkbeat.org</em></a><em>.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/6/14/23761289/denver-education-reform-policies-research-request-parker-baxter-study-marrero-state-board/Erica Meltzer2023-06-13T20:12:43+00:002023-06-13T17:31:42+00:00<p><em>Sign up for </em><a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/newsletters/subscribe"><em>Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newslette</em></a><em>r to keep up with NYC’s public schools.</em></p><p>New York City reached a deal with the teachers union for a five-year contract that includes annual raises, expands opportunities for virtual learning, and allows some remote work for certain employees, Mayor Eric Adams announced Tuesday.</p><p>The tentative deal for the United Federation of Teachers’ 115,000 full-time and 5,000 part-time education department employees includes 3% wage increases for the first three years, followed by a 3.25% increase in the fourth year, and 3.5% in the fifth year. The full contract would cost the city $6.4 billion, city officials said.&nbsp;</p><p>Starting salary for new teachers will jump from $61,070 to $72,349 by the end of the contract. In five years, the most experienced teachers will earn $151,271. The deal also proposes to cut in half the amount of time it takes teachers to reach a $100,000 salary — from 15 to eight years.&nbsp;</p><p>It also includes annual retention bonuses that will grow to $1,000 in 2026, for as long as an employee is an education department employee, and will be built into the system going forward. It’s the first time the union has negotiated such a payment, said Michael Mulgrew, president of the teachers union, during a press conference announcing the deal.</p><p>“We’re saying to all of our titles and every member, whether you’re in the first year or your 25th year, New York City is saying that we appreciate you, we recognize the challenges that you take on every day and you will receive $1,000 every [year] for that,” Mulgrew said. <em>[Mulgrew initially misspoke, and his statement has been clarified.]</em></p><p>The retention bonus is “a good strategy” for keeping teachers, said Melissa Arnold Lyon, assistant professor of politics and policy at the University of Albany, who has been following the UFT’s contract negotiations. Teacher turnover rates in New York City and elsewhere<a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/6/23624340/teacher-turnover-leaving-the-profession-quitting-higher-rate"> hit an unusual high</a> after last school year, potentially exacerbated by the stresses of the pandemic.</p><p>“There are a lot of costs of trying to find and hire new teachers,” Lyon said. “If $1,000 helps you to keep a teacher, at least on the micro level, that’s worth it.”</p><p>The agreement is retroactive to Sept. 14, 2022, and runs through Nov. 28, 2027, city officials said. The wage increases follow the pattern of raises set by the February agreement with<a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/2/17/23604818/nyc-dc-37-contract-deal-raises-municipal-child-care"> District Council 37</a>, which includes cafeteria workers, parent coordinators, and crossing guards.&nbsp;</p><p>Many teachers expected that their union would follow suit and<a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/24/23696601/uft-nyc-contract-inflation-raise-mulgrew-teachers-union"> had expressed concerns</a> given that the previous deals were not keeping pace with inflation, which ​​has<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/12/business/inflation-fed-rates.html"> moderated somewhat</a> in recent months but reached<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/12/business/inflation-gas-discounts.html"> 6.5% last year</a>. Teachers had complained that their responsibilities have only increased since the pandemic, as they continue to catch up students academically and socially from years of interrupted learning.&nbsp;</p><h2>A virtual learning program to expand</h2><p>The contract would expand<a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/14/23502476/virtual-learning-remote-classes-nyc-schools"> a pilot remote learning project</a> that allowed small schools to offer virtual courses — such as AP Chemistry — that they otherwise couldn’t because of staffing issues. This year, the program used federal funding to grow, reaching about 1,500 students across 58 schools, with 23 separate online courses outside traditional school hours.</p><p>Under the tentative deal, high schools, as well as schools that serve grades 6-12, could offer virtual courses after school and on the weekends starting in the next academic year, union officials said, though nothing would bar schools from creating tutoring programs, too. Those programs would be available to students who volunteer to participate, and would be staffed by volunteer teachers. A quarter of high schools would be allowed to participate next year, growing to all high schools by the 2027-28 school year. High schools must apply to participate, education officials said.</p><p>Courses might be offered at individual schools or through the central education department, and high schools must apply to participate, education officials said. Part-time remote teachers can apply to be part of their school-based remote program and work before or after the school day; there will also be full-time, centrally hired teachers for the other program.</p><p>Programs could vary, Gendar said. For example, a school could offer evening courses, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., for students who are missing classes because they’re working day jobs, she said.&nbsp;</p><p>Schools could offer non-traditional schedules for students and teachers who want them. If a teacher volunteers to work a virtual program in addition to their regular work day, they will be paid overtime, Gendar said.</p><p>During a press conference, schools Chancellor David Banks said the virtual learning agreement gives students more flexibility, noting that some benefited from remote learning during the pandemic.</p><p>“Students who were at risk of dropping out were able to continue their coursework on a schedule that works best for them,” Banks said of remote learning during the start of the pandemic. “This expands those types of opportunities across the entire system.”</p><p>The contract would also allow some employees, who don’t work directly in schools, to work remotely for up to two days a week. It was not immediately clear which employees that would include.&nbsp;</p><p>Another sticking point was over how teachers would get to spend an extra 155 minutes each week after school. The deal would allow them, as they did this year, to do professional development and parent outreach, and it&nbsp;added a new option for teachers to do other classroom work of their choice in that time.</p><h2>Teachers have mixed feelings </h2><p>The contract is not yet final. First, the union’s negotiating committee, composed of 500 members, along with its executive board and delegate assembly will decide whether to send the tentative deal to all union members for a vote. Union officials did not immediately provide dates for those votes.</p><p>Some teachers took to social media to criticize the deal, but pushing back against it could be an uphill battle. The union cannot easily pull off a work stoppage because a teachers strike would violate New York’s Taylor Law, which<a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2020/8/19/21376206/nyc-teachers-union-demanding-covid-tests"> imposes significant financial penalties</a> for public sector unions that strike.</p><p>Robert Effinger, a union chapter leader at the Bronx High School of Business, said the pay increases surpassed his expectations.</p><p>Although some educators hoped that the salary increases would exceed inflation, the union was hemmed in by the pattern set by unions that negotiated contracts earlier this year. But Effinger said he was glad to see the union negotiate a quicker path to higher pay, an issue he hopes will help retain more educators.</p><p>“One of the reasons people burn out in education is they feel like they’re doing a lot of labor that is not appropriately compensated,” he said. “Having an accelerated early track is better for keeping people in.”</p><p>Still, he said he’s eager to hear more details about other elements of the contract including increased teacher autonomy, a major part of the union’s campaign, which focused on burdensome paperwork requirements educators face.</p><p>The union plans to hold a virtual town hall for members on Thursday at 4 p.m.</p><p><em>Alex Zimmerman contributed.</em></p><p><a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/authors/reema-amin"><em>Reema Amin</em></a><em> is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.</em></p><p><em>Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2023/6/13/23759620/nyc-uft-teachers-union-contract-deal-raises-mayor-eric-adams/Reema Amin, Amy Zimmer2023-06-13T00:05:07+00:002023-06-13T00:05:07+00:00<p>The State Board of Education this week is considering a new plan from Aurora leaders to improve Gateway High School, a low-performing school that hasn’t improved with past efforts, and was recently in the spotlight for allegations that a previous principal had misused money and changed student grades.&nbsp;</p><p>The district is proposing a plan under state innovation status, which grants the school more autonomy from various state and district rules. An independent review panel found it’s the best option of the ones the state can mandate.&nbsp;</p><p>Gateway, which serves about 1,400 students including 90% students of color, has been under state orders since 2019. Ronald Fay, the principal initially hired to oversee the plan, is now under investigation for allegedly embezzling more than $100,000 from the school over a two-year period, starting in 2019, according to a report by Fox31. The report names Fay’s secretary as a possible accomplice.</p><p>A whistleblower alerted the district in 2021, prompting <a href="https://kdvr.com/news/local/gateway-high-principal-ronald-fay-jill-watkins-embezzlement-grade-fixing/">an audit, resignation, and criminal investigation</a>. When Aurora Public Schools completed its own internal audit, it sent the information to law enforcement for criminal investigation.&nbsp;</p><p>A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office said there was no update on the status of the investigation into the former principal. According to court records, he has not been charged.&nbsp;</p><p>State officials say they weren’t aware of <a href="https://kdvr.com/news/local/gateway-high-principal-ronald-fay-jill-watkins-embezzlement-grade-fixing/">the allegations or the problems before this year</a>, when details were first reported by Fox31. In Colorado, state officials don’t oversee school-level finances, and state leaders said they depend on schools being honest in reporting academic data such as grades and graduation rates.</p><p>Aurora Public Schools declined an interview request, and board members did not return calls seeking comment.</p><p>Groups that worked inside Gateway High School to improve student achievement, Communities in Schools and Zero Dropouts, also said they had no idea about the alleged mismanagement.&nbsp;</p><p>The Aurora school board has not discussed the accusations publicly, nor what they mean for district oversight of struggling schools. The district has two other schools on state-ordered improvement plans, and more than a dozen that could be headed for state intervention if they don’t improve in the next few years.</p><p>That the alleged misconduct went undetected speaks to the limits of Colorado’s accountability system, which looks at achievement on state tests and some other academic measures, but typically leaves nearly all aspects of district and school governance to local authorities.</p><p>“In Colorado there’s local control and a lot of that responsibility falls to the local board,” said Lindsey Jaeckel, executive director of school and district transformation for the state department of education. “In our experience, districts do have strong checks and balances.”</p><h2>School’s improvement efforts first focused on targeted needs</h2><p>By 2019, Gateway had received four consecutive years of low ratings —&nbsp;due to low standardized test scores and graduation rates. Rather than wait for a fifth year of low ratings, when state law would then require the State Board to intercede, district leaders proposed their own improvement plan to get ahead of the state and avoid being told what to do. It was the first district to propose a plan ahead of the five-year timeline.</p><p>State officials at the time praised the district for the initiative and approved the plan local leaders crafted.</p><p>Gateway’s plan was to hire a partial external manager to focus on social emotional learning support. The external manager, Communities in Schools, placed three caseworkers at the school to work with students who needed extra help with nonacademic issues, and help train teachers on how to integrate social and emotional learning support in their classroom work.&nbsp;</p><p>But one of the complaints about Fay, at the time, was that he hired a large culture team with unclear job responsibilities at higher pay rates than teachers at the school.</p><p>Christopher Murray of Communities in Schools said that his team saw the large number of resources in the school as a bonus, but they weren’t used as well as they could have been.</p><p>“We felt it was great, the district and the community are committed to addressing needs in this school,” Murray said. “What I felt was the missing piece was, how are we integrating all of that? There was continued confusion around roles and what we were there to do, and ultimately a lack of trust or buy-in in the school.”</p><p>Communities in Schools ended their contract with the district in 2021. Murray said that the organization wanted more cooperation with leadership, a role in decision making, and ultimately felt they were no longer “achieving the outcomes and goals that we wanted to achieve.” The district then revised its improvement plan, which the state approved in the fall of 2021.&nbsp;</p><p>In the <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/9/10/22667767/aurora-gateway-high-school-state-board-change-management-partner">second version of the improvement plan</a>, Gateway contracted with another organization, Zero Dropouts. This time, the contracted work focused on credit recovery as students were returning to in-person school after initial pandemic disruption.&nbsp;</p><p>According to email correspondence obtained through public records requests, there was disagreement about how many students benefited from Zero Dropouts’ work. The independent State Review Panel’s report details problems with the work including no communication with teachers on which of their students were working with the group, whether they needed to approve the recovery work, and a lack of student participation in afternoon and weekend tutoring opportunities the group offered.</p><p>The latest state rating, for 2022, showed the school again in “turnaround,” the lowest rating given to schools.&nbsp;</p><p>And while the <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/1/12/22226071/colorado-graduation-rates-2020">graduation rate improved significantly for the Class of 2020</a>, it has since dropped again to 64.2%, for the Class of 2022, lower than the state rate of 82.3%.</p><p><aside id="QIcbjr" class="sidebar float-right"><h3 id="QRWZgv">Graduation rate at Gateway High School</h3><p id="4Zs432"><strong>2018:</strong> 67.5%</p><p id="YvWhfF"><strong>2019:</strong> 64.2%</p><p id="83gaOo"><strong>2020:</strong> 73.1%</p><p id="FIwElL"><strong>2021:</strong> 66.6%</p><p id="PzEnZi"><strong>2022:</strong> 64.2%</p></aside></p><p>Multiple teachers at the school raised concerns about grades being changed, according to the Fox31 report. <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23843982-aurora-public-schools-bkd-report-13122">A district audit reports</a> that the district investigation had found there were more than 400 grade changes, far more grade changes than at other district high schools. The audit found there was no evidence of grade changes in exchange for payment, but that teachers did feel inappropriately pressured to change them. The audit also states that the internal district investigation into the grade changes may have been inadequate.&nbsp;</p><p>Sentinel Colorado reported that during a school board meeting with superintendent finalists this spring, Andre Wright, who was identified as the administrator who oversaw the possibly inadequate investigation into the grade changes, <a href="https://sentinelcolorado.com/1gridhome/gateway-high-school-embezzlement-probe-reveals-trail-of-lavish-spending-fraud/">claimed that most of the changes weren’t beneficial to the students and that grades were actually lowered</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>“APS should consider whether additional inquiries should be made with respect to the grade change practices at Gateway,” <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23843982-aurora-public-schools-bkd-report-13122">the audit recommendations</a> state. “As Gateway is a turnaround school, metrics related to student performance and graduation are important to the school’s status.”</p><p>Since Gateway first got a state-ordered improvement plan in 2019, the school has received a total of $500,000 in state school improvement dollars. State officials said they don’t have any concerns about those dollars having been misspent.&nbsp;</p><p>The money is given to districts, not schools themselves, and state officials say they track that the work that is supposed to happen with the grant money does, in fact, happen. In Gateway’s case, the money has gone mostly to pay for the external managers.&nbsp;</p><p>Asked if the state could impose penalties related to accounting practices or other financial concerns, Jennifer Okes, chief school operations officer for the Colorado Department of Education, said in an email that districts could face downgraded ratings “if CDE determines a district or charter schools are not in substantial, good-faith compliance.”</p><p>“We have not had any instances of this during the past 10 years. While we do have districts that are out of compliance with some provisions from time to time, these have not risen to the level of substantial, good-faith compliance,” she wrote.</p><h2>A new approach</h2><p>Gateway’s newest principal, Scott Fiske, hired in January 2022, evaluated the school’s needs and determined that a more comprehensive plan to improve instruction is necessary. The push to use innovation status came after a visit from the state review panel in the fall.&nbsp;</p><p>District leadership has also changed, including the chief academic officer, and a <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/4/27/23701729/michael-giles-aurora-public-schools-superintendent">new superintendent will start next month</a>.</p><p>The school held focus groups with staff and students, <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/co/cde/Board.nsf/files/CSDSTR70DF2B/$file/Gateway%20High%20School%20Innovation%20Pathway%20Plan.docx.pdf">and created a plan</a> that would push the school to offer “experiential learning” tied to college and career experiences. Students would get opportunities to do job shadowing, internships, service work, and earn industry certifications.</p><p>The school is requesting innovation status waivers including to hire unlicensed teachers for certain career class offerings, have flexibility in the school calendar, and change graduation requirements to offer different diploma options. Graduation requirements would need to at least meet, if not exceed, the district’s requirements.</p><p>The local school board approved the plan unanimously in April, after members praised it, as well as the community engagement done while creating the plan. Some school board members asked why this work hadn’t been the focus from the start.&nbsp;</p><p>The district and school staff working on Gateway’s improvement plan are all new. They said they believed the people who worked on the original plans hoped more targeted work would be enough. Now district officials want a more comprehensive approach.</p><p>Jaeckel, executive director of school and district transformation for the state department of education, said that when state officials do site visits, they focus on systems and helping school and district leaders narrow their focus to a few improvements that can be done well.</p><p>“We do seek information about, how are you supporting students who are failing?” Jaeckel said. “We get to see that. But we don’t get down to an individual level, talking to a teacher or even a principal about how did a student end up with a D? It’s more about, are there systems in place?”</p><p>Jaeckel said that when the state publicly posts academic data offered by schools, it helps provide accountability because the public can see what is being reported, and ask questions of their local officials.&nbsp;</p><p>In Aurora, although the district denied an interview request and school board members haven’t questioned the district’s policies in a public board meeting, the district issued a statement defending their policies.</p><p>“We have multiple policies and protocols in place to ensure that funding is used appropriately to serve Aurora Public Schools students,” the district’s statement reads. “We do not tolerate misconduct and hold staff to high standards. We work to fully investigate complaints and concerns. In this case, the actions of the two former employees are appalling. We remain committed to upholding high standards for all employees.”</p><p><em>Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at yrobles@chalkbeat.org.</em></p>https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2023/6/12/23758728/aurora-gateway-high-school-state-orders-innovation-plan-accountability-new-approach/Yesenia Robles